


Watch Me Burn

by Varmint



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice (Comics), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Jason Todd is Older, Murder, Out of Character, Psychopath!Wally, Talk of Rape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-08
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-02-28 17:31:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2741027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varmint/pseuds/Varmint
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's amazing what they tell us our job is. Tell us we fight the real 'monsters'. The ones that live out of our beds and closets. Oh, how wrong the League is, telling this to us. Or, at least, to me. I know the real monsters, I've fought them. I've killed them. I'm Wally West, and I'm not the Kid Flash, the jokester of the team, you all know. I'm something entirely different. High T.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

It's sick, really. The way they laugh and joke, feeling as if nothing could touch them. At least, nothing bad. They thought that justice was on our side, and corruption was a foreign term, non-existent to them. But it lived and thrived in our little team. The others didn't see it, but I did. The way M'gann or Artemis would stab you in the back if threatened correctly. How, if paid the right price or threatened correctly, Superboy would give up all our secrets. And even, how Batman would do everything and anything to ensure Robin's life, even if it meant our death. Yet, they were now laughing because of our newest victory.

I correct myself, not only is it sick, it is disgusting. Yes, we caught Bane, but what would it be? A week? Maybe two if we're lucky, then he'll break out of prison and get back on the streets, murdering and endangering hundreds of innocent people.

"Come on, Wally, why so glum?" Zatanna asked, smiling from her spot next to Robin.

She was another problem. Too innocent. Too young. She didn't have any malice; and believe me, she didn't deserve to have any of it; and if she did, it was directed at the wrong person.

I gave her my charming; yet fake; smile. "I'm not glum, Zee. Is it hard to believe I sometimes think?" I asked her.

She only laughed her annoying laugh, while Robin chuckled. God, I was already tired of this. Of them. Don't get it wrong, I love this team like crazy, but I wanted out of this. I wanted off of this team. I wanted to do what was right, what these so called heroes weren't ready to do. To go over the line they weren't ready to cross.

"Oh, come on, Baywatch, stop joking!" Artemis exclaimed, making me get a small frown.

She was; maybe; the main cause of my troubles. She had the bad blood inside of her already, which didn't help in my book. She wore a mask; much like mine; but hers' was for a very different reason. I act like a real hero to protect my family, my friends, the heroes that do the 'right' thing. But she... That little bitch wore the hero mask to get information. Most probably to sell it to the shadows later.

"I'm not joking, Arty. I just like to think sometimes." I told her, then got up before she could say something back.

Her voice hurt, grating into my ear. She was just as bad; or maybe worse; than the scum out on the streets, raping and killing innocents, or selling and distributing drugs to the wrong age group. All of them sick sons of bitches, but in my book, she had the top spot. She didn't care about anyone but herself, and I was already tired of it.

"I'm going back to Central." I told them, then started to head out.

As I neared the Zeta Beam, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find Kaldur, looking at me with sad eyes. "Why are you leaving so soon, Wally?" He asked.

I gave him a lopsided smile, actually sad to be leaving him. He was a good leader, a good teammate, and an even better friend. "Christmas is arriving and Finals are kicking my ass, Kaldur. I have to study if I want to continue patrolling during Christmas."

He nodded, then they let me go, all of them thinking I would go straight home to study. M'gann didn't read my mind anymore, not since I chewed her out after I woke up from a nightmare. I wasn't heading straight home, though. I was going to Keystone High; my high school; to meet up with my English teacher to study.

As I ran down the streets of Central, I reviewed the details of the case I was on at the moment. I had decided the gangs were getting too much attention, and the serial killers weren't getting enough of it. Well, at least my attention. When I went to my uncle's lab, they were reviewing the details of a recent string of murders of some high class women. None of them shared hair color, eye color, even physical height or build. But, they all lived in some nice communities in Central or Keystone, and they were all found raped numerous times, with their bras and jewelry missing, and with 'whore' written on their bare chests. This bastard was sick. Even sicker than most people I've faced. And, he just so happens to be my English teacher.

After I had gone my notes one last time with Mr. James, he dismissed me, and I left to the parking lot. I walked straight towards his car, a small smile playing on my lips because of the thought of what I would do once I had enough evidence against him. I picked the lock of his Ferrari quite quickly, and smiled as I opened the car door. He was a clean man, almost nothing on the floor, but I knew better than to trust appearances. I opened the glove compartment, and, who knew, there were tons of knives.

I smiled as I pulled on my black gloves, and grabbed the knife with the fanciest engravings on the hilt. He wasn't the smartest man around, apparently. I looked around the car, and on a hunch, stabbed the knife into the leather seats. Instead of any kind of fluff or whatever was usually found in a seat, bras and underwear spilled out. Female underwear. I frowned at how disgusting this man was, then got out of the car and headed towards the trunk.

Using the same knife I opened it, and lo and behold, a knocked out red head was bound and gagged there, already missing whatever jewelry she had on.

"That's one sick son of a bitch." I muttered to myself, then pulled the trunk down, leaving the door open enough for her to breath.

I walked back towards the school, this time using the darkness as an element of surprise against whoever was there. I entered the dark room of my English teacher quietly, slowly and quietly scraping the blade of the knife against the desks I passed on the way. I hid it as I neared his desk, then cleared my throat. He jumped in his seat, scattering all of his papers, then looked up at me, startled. I couldn't help but smirk.

"Jesus, Wallace, you scared me." He told me, then glared down at his watched and started to pick up the fallen papers. "Did you leave something?"

I looked away, and my eyes fell on a painting of the nine muses, shirtless, while 'inspiring' men to do whatever they did. "You know, I never understood that." I told him, turning back to look at him. Oh, I understood. I understood how most men are disgusting pigs that think women are objects. Much like my English teacher.

He pushed up his thick glasses, and asked, "What, Wallace?" Oh. He was getting irritated. This should be fun.

"Why do the muses have to be depicted like that?" I asked him, smiling at his confused face. "I mean, what kind of society do we live in where women only get their point across when they're half-naked or completely naked?"

He seemed even more confused at this, yet, more intrigued. Yep, this was my sicko.

"I don't understand, Wally."

I sighed, itching to use my stolen knife. He deserved to die by his own weapons. "No, you wouldn't, Mr. Jameson. You agree too much with those ways." My eyes bore into his own, then I turned my back to his once more. "Have you heard of the recent murders?"

He was most probably caught off-guard by this question, if his quickened breathing pace was an indicator.

"Really, it's just sad. Five women already raped and killed because a sick man got horny."

"I-I don't understand why you're telling me this." I hate it when they play dumb.

"Did you know the police weren't able to link the women to the same killer until today? Apparently, he crossed jurisdictional lines, killed in different parts, and out of Keystone and Central even. Rumor has it the son of a bitch stole the women's bras and jewelry, most probably as trophies..." I drifted off, loving the feeling of fear radiating off of him. "But, I think he needs those to get off."

"H-how do you know that?" Really, it's sad how he gave himself up so easily. I turned to him, taking out the knife to balance it in my gloved hand.

"You know, the real reason police caught on was because of his short cooling off period. Only a day between each kill." I started to walk towards him, reveling in his fear. "It's actually disappointing, Mr. Jameson. You're a teacher, you should know better than to keep your instruments in your car. There are people like me out there." My voice grew darker and lower, and before he could act, I had the knife to his throat.

He held his hands up in defense, and said, "Now, Wallace, don't do anything you might regret."

I cocked my head to the side, and asked, "Do you regret what you did?"

"Yes! I didn't mean to!" He gasped. He really was pure filth.

I shrugged and lowered the knife, taking a step back. "Something funny actually, what you just said. Because the chick tied up in your car doesn't really help your case." Then, before he could react, the knife was lodged into his shoulder.

He screamed and fell in pain, making me smile. Here comes the fun part. I stalked towards him, smiling evilly as he gasped in short breaths. Some people just aren't made for pain.

"Psycho's got your tongue?" I asked innocently, then pulled the knife out of his shoulder.

He screamed, making me smile. "Now, Mr. Jameson, the fun's just beginning." I mocked him from his own tapes. Yes, this man actually recorded his rapes.

"How did you get that?" He gasped, breathing so rapidly I thought he would hyperventilate.

I ignored and him, and just observed the bloodied knife. "I'm surprised you thought you could keep your secret from me, Mr. Jameson. I mean, the looks give the female students is one thing, then how you ignore them, but the way you tried to get with the Science teacher was just a dead give away!" I smiled, then got serious. Or at least, my serious. "You know, you're much like the women you killed when one thinks about it."

"I'm nothing like those whores!"

"Shut up!" I yelled, slapping him with my free hand. He stared wide-eyed at me, but said nothing. "See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" I asked him mockingly. "Now, you say you're not. But look where you are. At the mercy of someone supposedly weaker than you."

He glared up at me, and tried to push me off, which ended with my hand on his neck, and him choking. "How does that feel?" I yelled. "How does it feel to have your life slowly fade away as a mad man wills it to go?" I growled.

When he didn't answer, I smashed his head against the floor, causing it to crack the tile. "Answer me, you worthless son of a bitch!"

He spluttered uncontrollably, making me smile. "Isn't this what you did? Aside from raping them repeatedly, of course." I glanced up at the clock. 9:30. Almost curfew. I have to speed this up. "It's because of people like you I'm not afraid to act." I whispered, then started to stab him repeatedly.

After the tenth stab, I got up and made to walk out, leaving him to die in his own blood.

"You're going to hell, Wally." He rasped out, making me smile and turn around.

He was a bloody mess, barely able to even crawl. I shifted the bloodied knife in my hand, and with my speed, threw it at his head. It hit it's mark.

"Well, guess I'll meet you there, bastard." I growled, then left the school, and sped to my house.

I took a shower and got all of the blood off of me, and waited for my parents to come back from their movie. Today was their 'date' night, which meant get rid of Wally for a night. I sighed as they entered, laughing loudly, and went to greet them. I used my happy mask as they told me how good the movie mask, but I couldn't help but feel happy at what I had just done.

Most probably, the sheriff would be knocking on our door tomorrow morning, wanting to know what I was doing there last night, and telling me the details of the murder unwillingly. And I would be reveling at the fact that a fifteen year old couldn't do what dozens of trained police agents couldn't even begin to fathom.


	2. Chapter 1

A new day means new opportunities and new targets. Things happened just like I had predicted. The sheriff came by and asked me what I was doing at 7:30 in the school, and after I told her I was studying, she believed me and explained everything that had happened to the teacher. Luckily, my parents were asleep when this happened, so I didn't have to worry about getting a beating from my parents for them believing I had caused problems again. As I drank my coffee; it helped calm my nerves, isn't that ironic; my phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked, using my jokeful tone seeing that this was Robin.

"Wally? Did you hear?" He asked.

I separated the phone from my mouth and sighed, not wanting to hear all about the dead teacher again, and returned to it, with a curious voice. "What was I supposed to hear?"

"Dude, one of your teacher's been murdered. In his own classroom!"

"Seriously?" I asked, wondering what I could eat before I left for my... eh... me time.

"Yeah! From what I heard, he was stabbed, but the cause of death was a- wait for it-" He said, trying to add to the suspense. I just held in a sigh. "A knife to the head!"

"No way! That couldn't have happened!" Better play along with him.

"I'm not kidding, Wally. A chick from your English class walked in, and there she found the dude, dead. Amazing thing is there was a note there."

"Really?" I already knew of this. For I had placed it.

"Yeah, you know that Vigilante who has been making the gangs drop like flies?" Of course I did. "It was his calling card."

"Seriously? No way, dude. What did it say?" It hurt me to speak like this.

"Something along the lines of 'This filth was a murderer, raping innocents, damaging lives of the innocent. He got what he deserved'." Strange, he said it word for word.

"No way, there's no way my teacher could be the man he's describing." I feigned my shock, and started looking through the fridge to see if there was anything good to eat.

"Dude, they found a girl in his trunk!" Robin exclaimed.

"Man, that's not possible! I don't believe you!"

I heard him sigh, and then said, "Just turn on the News. Look, I have to go, see you later."

I gagged as I finally ended the call, then decided to look through the cabinets for breakfast. It's not that I didn't like Robin, it's just that he wouldn't see things the same way I do. I mean, Batman is strict on his no killing rule, but I believe that you do what you must when it comes to these scum. I see the bigger picture, if you will.

I grabbed an apple as my breakfast, then got some paper and a pen from the drawers. I wrote down that I would be out until curfew, and that the police was not to be called, grabbed my backpack, then left the house, speeding towards Star City. Today was a free day from both school and the Team, seeing that I was supposed to be using today as a study day for final exams, and the rest of the team had school or shit like that.

Star was bursting with the gang life, and I was to clean it up. Ollie and Roy were doing a somewhat okay job, but I had to step in right now, because the gang violence was becoming too much. They were getting overwhelmed and they didn't even notice it. Maybe see if my friend would finally let me get a tattoo.

There's this new man in Star. Name's Tony DiMaggio. Another name, 'The Slug'. He favors the use of guns, bats, brass knuckles, and knives. Now this man, he wasn't at the top of my list until yesterday. You see, while I was… uh… 'taking care' of Mr. Jameson, he decided it would be a good idea to boast about how he would be able to take on any and all vigilantes that came at him.

And cue me getting mad. I didn't take lightly to anybody saying that they were better than me. I'm actually surprised I haven't lashed out at Artemis for her constant boasting about how she's better.

In my backpack, I had everything I needed for my vigilante persona. My dirty brown trench coat, raggedy and torn cowboy hat, all of my weapons, my boots, gloves, and my black bandanna. You should have a mental picture of what I wear when doing the right thing.

########

"I don't quite get what you're getting at, Bruce." Dick told his adoptive father as they looked over the details of Mr. Jameson's murder.

"Wally was the last person to see him alive, Dick, he should know something." Bruce told him, a little tired of his son being so dense.

"Bruce, this is Wally we're talking about. Wally. You know, Barry's nephew? The team's comic relief?" Dick continued.

Bruce glared at him, then said, "I'm not saying that he murdered him, Wally. I'm saying that he should know something."

Dick sighed, then said, "Come on, Bruce. We all know that it was the Vigilante. He even left his calling card."

Bruce was now getting mad. "Dick, I'm not saying that Wally did it! I'm saying that he should have noticed that something was off with his teacher!"

Dick cowered back, knowing that he had to stop bothering Bruce now. "I'm going to Star." Bruce announced, swiftly getting up from his seat.

Dick looked up at him, "Why?"

"This gangster, Tony DiMaggio said that he could take on any hero." Bruce told him.

"DiMaggio? Wasn't that the wanted drug trafficker from here?" Dick asked.

"Got that right, Dick. Alfred will stay with you while I'm gone."

########

It's funny, how people change so quickly when there's a gun to their head or a knife to their neck. The squealer wasn't older than twenty, and was taller than me by a few inches, and he had some muscle over me, but the revolver pointed straight at his temple was perfect means of getting information.

"I swear, that's all I know!" He was hyperventilating now.

I cocked my head to the side, and pressed the trigger tightly. "You sure? Is that all you know?" I asked him.

He was close to pissing in his own pants, but that didn't dissuade me. He knew something else. "Okay! He has a new bodyguard!"

I smiled at this, and even though he couldn't see it, he seemed to get even more scared. "Oh, really? What's his name?"

He now had tears running down his face along with snot, and I couldn't help but think that they just didn't make scum like they used to. I mean, I just pointed a gun to his face and he was chattering like a somewhat coherent monkey.

"I don't know!"

I just shoved the gun a little harder into his head, and squeezed the trigger a little more, and he was singing like a canary. Heh, wonder if Black Canary would sing like him if I had a gun pointed to her face.

"Okay! He's under the protection of a man called the Hood! The Red Hood!"

I growled at this, and put my gun in it's holster, and took out my knife. This was taking up too much time. "Either you give me the answer I'm looking for, or you start losing fingers." I growled.

He was now sobbing. "Okay! Okay! The Hood's in there as a body guard to DiMaggio! H-he asked to be protected from the people that would show up!"

"Wasn't the Red Hood the Joker?" I asked him.

"I-I don't know! The people from Gotham are crazy, you know?" He asked me, seeming to want to strike up a conversation.

I smiled evilly at this, and moved the knife towards his neck, "Good, now tell me all you know about the Hood."

"I-I don't know much about him!" He cried. "H-he showed up a year or two ago and now he's running most of the criminal gangs!"

"What's his policy?"

Every man like him, a man that had all the gangs under his protection, had a policy to protect them. For some you had to pay a hell of a lot of money. For others you need to follow all his rules, and if not... well... Let's say you'd be better off dead.

"No giving drugs to kids! Y-you can't drag anyone younger than eighteen into this things!"

I nodded at this, feeling a sense of respect for this 'Hood', then slammed the squealer against the wall. "Is that all?"

"That's all I know! I swear!"

"To who do you swear?" I asked him, smiling at the idea that came into my mind.

He stopped sniffling and crying at this question, but when I moved the knife's tip to touch his neck, he answered, "I swear to God!"

I moved the knife away from his neck, then swiftly plunged it into his stomach. His eyes widened and he gasped like a fish out of water. As I retracted the knife, I moved my head so my mouth was near his ear. "Swearing to God is a sin." I whispered, then I let him fall to the floor, to die in his own filth.

I walked away from the alley in Star, wiping the knife on my trench coat; which was already dirty with the blood of my other targets; and I took off running to the warehouse district. I swear, it seems that every city that has a hero has a warehouse district. Metropolis has one. Star has one. Gotham has two. Central and Keystone share one. It's like the government is asking criminals to live there.

Apparently, DiMaggio and this Hood were staying at the abandoned steel making warehouse, and they were making drugs there. Apparently, DiMaggio made heroin, marijuana, and a few more synthetic drugs that just weren't supposed to be made anywhere.

"The good things in life I will always refuse, the worst things in life I will always abuse." I whispered to myself, humming the tune of one of my favorite songs. What can I say? It speaks to me.

As I snuck around the warehouse, trying to pinpoint the right one; I'm not originally from Star, so don't judge me; I noticed that it was awfully quiet.

'You may be walking right into a trap.' A little voice in my head told me, making me smirk.

"Yeah, a trap for them." I told it, and quieted down as a group of four men passed by.

"Did you hear about Joey?" One of them asked.

"Yeah, killed by that Vigilante." The other said.

"You think he's coming here?" The biggest and dumbest looking one asked.

"Could be. But, remember, we're under the Hood's protection. He can't hurt us none." The last one spoke, then they were gone, leaving me with a smirk.

This Hood must really be something for them to feel safe while they know I killed one of their own. This should be fun. I quietly trailed the group; leaving a bug on one of their jackets; hiding into the crooks of the warehouses whenever someone walked too close, and other times just cutting the person's neck. I came upon the biggest warehouse, and they entered, leaving me smiling.

I just love how stupid most of these crooks are. I jumped onto the ledge of the side of the warehouse, going up the fireescape and stopping in front of a window. Inside was the normal drug place scene, machinery to move and make the drugs, men and some women walking all around, bustling through their jobs, and two men at the very middle of it.

One was my main target, Tony DiMaggio, and the other was my secondary target, the Red Hood. Tony looked a lot like the Iron Man, you know, his civilian and billionaire version? Well, he looked a heck of a lot like him. The Red Hood was wearing a brown jacket, black pants with guns attached, a red helmet, and he was glaring at anyone that got too close.

The man who I had bugged walked up straight to them, and I fixed my comm.

"What happened with Joey?" Tony asked, even though he didn't sound curious at all.

"Murdered by the Vigilante." The man answered.

There was a scoff, then the Red Hood spoke, "You're getting your asses kicked by what could be a teenager."

My eyes widened at this, along with Tony's. "And why do you think that?"

"Well, let's put what he's done aside. His messages to the police, while they are very good at imitating maturity, still show that he doesn't feel very impulsed to do this, much like a teenager hates to do what he's told. And, from the pictures I have seen and the descriptions of his body, he's smaller than most adults, which leads me to believe he's either a teen, or a very tall midget."

"There's no way a kid could have done this!" The thug exclaimed.

Red Hood turned to glare at him, and asked, "Do you know how many sidekicks there are on this Earth? Robin's only thirteen, and if given the right push, he would be doing the same things to you."

The man was now red, but Tony stopped him before he could say anything. "There is no need to bother the Red Hood, Mickey. Now get back to work." Then the man was gone.

I glared at the Red Hood, but put my feelings aside and walked towards the electrical conduit. Let's see just how dangerous a teenager gets when he feels indignant.


	3. Chapter 2

As all of the lights in the warehouse turned off, everybody in there gasped and started to freak out. Well, all of them but the Red Hood. But, who wouldn't be afraid when you knew death was going to visit you? And, well, most probably take you.

Yeah, I sometimes believe I'm sadistic.

I cut the glass and slowly slipped inside through all of the chaos, smiling as Red Hood barked orders for everyone to shut up and get to work. I decided that I really only wanted to fight Red Hood and kill Tony, so I shot two times at the roof. More screaming ensued, then most of the rats were gone, leaving only a handful of thugs and my targets.

I hid behind a crate as the lights came back on, and Red Hood was fuming.

"What the hell was that?" He growled at Tony, who was cowering back from him.

He did look pretty scary right now. "That damn Vigilante," Tony stuttered. "He does this every time he means business."

"And what do you mean by that?" Red Hood growled, grabbing him by the collar.

"From what I've seen in the recordings, he cuts the power, kills everyone in the room, then spends some time killing the main target. This time the lot of cowards were lucky that he missed."

Red Hood shook his head, undoubtedly knowing my plan. "No. He didn't miss. If he's as good as you say, he would not have simply missed."

And he started to look through the first floor, most probably trying to find me. "And how do you know that?" Tony asked him.

"He's practically a punk ass miny version of me. If there is a target in here that is very special, I would love to have more time with it before killing it."

Heh. He describes targets as 'it'. He must be worse than me.

I shifted in my spot, slowly moving my hand to grab my knife, then before they could even think more on the Red Hood's words, I threw it at Mickey. It hit it's target, lodging itself into his forehead. I smiled as he fell and all of the men but Red Hood gathered in a circle, guns out as if they would help in any way.

'This is wrong.' A small voice in the back of my head told me as I threw a rock at the machinery, making the man starting shooting like crazy.

Like hell it is. These bastards deserve it.

"Stop shooting, you idiots!" Red Hood barked. "He's playing with you!"

"But Mickey!" One goon started, and ended with a bullet to the head. This time it was Red Hood's fault.

All of the men were both repulsed and surprised by this, and Red Hood turned to them, gun smoking. "Anyone want to add anything?" He asked, but anyone would know you shouldn't answer. No goon answered. "Good. Now, listen to me. Tweedle Dumb and Dumber," He said, pointing at the two goons who had AK-47's. "Go up the stairs and look for him."

I smiled and cracked my knuckles, itching for a fight. "You, you, and you," He pointed at the last three goons. "Search down here. Tony, you're with me."

Damn. Now I had to kill them both at the same time. Tweedle Dumb and Dumber cautiously walked up the stairs, their steps so slow it was hurting me. Why couldn't they hurry up and let me kill them already? It felt like a whole eternity, but those two finally stepped in front of me, making me smile.

I jumped out of my hiding place, catching them by surprise, but before they could even shoot their guns, each of them found a knife lodged into his neck. They both fell to the floor, gasping for breath, and I smiled at my handywork. I quickly grabbed the knives back; seeing that they were my favorites; and sped towards the crates closest to the stairs. Sheathing my knives in their pouches, I pulled my scimitar out of it's holder, which I kept on my back. And here's when the real fun begins.

Red Hood and Tony were already in a room at the other side of the warehouse, and the three goons here were going to just take away my energy if I killed them now, but I couldn't help myself. I sped over to the first one, cutting off his leg and stabbing him in the stomach, and then I was on the second, slicing his chest and stabbing his heart. Those two fell before even a second had passed. The last one stared at me in fear, making me smile from behind the bandana.

"Psycho's got your tongue?" I asked him, and as he stuttered for something to say, I had already cut both his legs off.

He screamed in pain and agony as I walked away and towards the room my targets were in, making me smile. I sheathed my scimitar once more, and spun my revolvers in my hands. 'This is extremly wrong. You shouldn't kill them.'

Oh shut up. Why weren't you there yesterday when I murdered my English teacher?

And the voice said nothing. I smiled at this, climbed up the stairs, and kicked the door open. Right there, Tony was tied up in a chair, duct tape over his mouth. I was confused at this, but I quickly scanned the rest of the room for the Red Hood. There was a shuffle from behind me, and I brought my hands in front of me just as the Red Hood punched me.

I grunted at the impact, but pushed him away, smirking at his wide eyes. "How did you?" He asked.

"I got my ways." I told him, then jumped back.

Tony was struggling against his bonds as we stared one another down, then Red Hood sighed. "Would you shut up?" He growled at Tony.

My target's eyes widened as Red Hood pointed a gun at him, but I beat him to the point, and shot Tony right in the forehead. Don't know why, but I have a thing for shooting people in between the eyes. Tony's head slumped forward, but it didn't give me any satisfaction.

"Well, that was no fun." I told myself.

Red Hood raised an eyebrow, and asked, "You shot him, didn't you?"

I sighed, and looked at him as if he were stupid. "You said I was a... what was it? Miny punk ass version of you? Well, you should know very well that I like to really hurt fuckers like that before I kill them."

He nodded, and put his guns away, moving his hand forward for me to shake it. I stared at it, then at him as if he were crazy, and when he nodded, I also put my guns away. I shook his hand, noting he had a firm and strong grip, then asked, "Why is it that you're doing this?"

He shrugged, then made to scratch the back of his head. "Don't quite know. I was actually thinking of wasting him in a few days, but I guess you beat me to the punch."

I nodded, then made to walk away. "What, no battle?" He asked.

I didn't even turn to him. "Why? From what I've heard, you make sure drugs don't get to kids, and I target the fuckers that do."

"Hey, what's your name?" And suddenly he was in front of me, reminding me of a certain little troll I know.

I glared at him, but said nothing. "I'm guessing that means you don't have a name." He told me.

"So? Do I need a name?" Yeah, not the best answer I could've given.

"Why, yes, yes you do." He told me, and I swear I could hear his smirk. "I mean, there's already a hero named Vigilante, and I'm sure he doesn't like you also being called Vigilante."

I rolled my eyes, and said, "We're on good terms. I don't need a name and he doesn't need to worry about me." Greg. He might be the only person on this whole planet that understands my crusade. Unfortunately, he doesn't know it's Wally. He only knows me as the Vigilante that makes gangs go bye.

"You do know you need a name, right?"

God, this guy was annoying. "Are you related to Deadpool?" I asked him, which got him to glare at me.

"That fucker owes me money, junior! You best watch your mouth!" Then he was back to thinking of a name for me.

I sighed and walked out of the room and down the stairs, with him following while spouting names. "Did you drink before you got here?" I asked him, now in entrance of the warehouse and tired of him.

He stopped, and he said, in an ashamed tone, "Only a little."

And then I was moving to leave once more. I managed a step or two more before his hand stopped me, and he was serious when he spoke. "Listen, Wally,"

My eyes widened at this, but I didn't do anything, for I was freaking out. How did he know? There's no way he could know! I don't know anyone like this! No one at all.

"It's all fun and games at the beginning, but this isn't the life you want for yourself." He told me. "Go back to playing hero, forget you ever did this, get back on the straight and narrow. It's easier and better on the hero's side." He sounded sad, and I almost believed him.

My pride didn't allow me to believe him completely. "And how the fuck do you know it's easier following orders like a freaking slave? No one but me feels that way."

He sighed, and he took off his helmet, making my eyes widen. No way. He was dead. "I know because I went through it. Unfortunately, I died before it got any better." He told me.

I took a step back as I saw my ex-best friend's looking at me through his mask. He seemed sad, but I couldn't believe it. "No. You're dead." I whispered.

"Well, that's supposed to be true, but how else would I know that it's you, Wally West, who is the new Vigilante?" He asked me. "Kid, I know your eyes and you like I know myself. Just one look at your green eyes and I knew it was you."

I shook my head, walking backwards as he walked towards me. "I saw you die."

It's because of you I started my vendetta.

"Wally, that was three years ago, anything can happen. Especially with the Bat Family." He told me, smiling kindly. "Now, come on. Let me take you for a drink." And suddenly his arm was wrapped around my shoulder, burning me.

I only gulped and let him lead me away, not sure if I wanted to believe if this was real or a fantasy. He walked me a few miles and towards a dangerous looking bar, which wasn't anything for me. We walked through the doors, and all eyes were on us. Jason had put on his helmet on the way, and what the villains saw was the Red Hood accompanied by the Vigilante.

"And what are you doing here?" Merlin asked, nursing a mug of beer.

I smirked at him through the bandana, and quickly reverted to my vigilante persona once more. It was so much easier than being Wally West. "To have drink, knock off. How about you?"

Red Hood chuckled as Merlin's face turned red, then led Wally straight to the bar. The both grabbed a beer, then sat down in a booth at the back of the bar. "So, Wallace, tell me, what's been going on?" He asked me.

I glared at him, then took a swig of my beer. What can I say? My parents' are drinkers, it was only a matter of time before I fell down yet another dark path.

"That's not good for you." He pointed out, yet he also drank.

"The worst things in life I will always abuse." I quoted, not quite ready to deal with the fact that Jason was alive.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, kid. Now listen to me. You're going to go back to Central, burn that costume, and go back to being the Flash's innocent sidekick." He told me, leaning against the seat and eyeing me.

I glared at him, scoffed, and crossed my arms. "I'm not doing that, Jason. You may be alive, and you may be telling me this as someone who's lived through what I'm living, but I'm not stopping this." I told him.

"Wally, you don't know-"

But I cut him off. "Do you know what broke me? I mean, what finished the job after you died?" I asked him.

He kept quiet, but I knew his silence meant. So, I continued. "It wasn't even a month after your funeral when I was called by Flash. He was away on League things when this happened. He told me to go on patrol, so I did. I didn't think much of it. I thought all I would find would be either Mirror Master and Captain Cold doing something. God, I was so stupid."

"I heard a scream coming from an alley, so I decided to check it out. Right there in that alley, a woman was being raped by a group of men. Well, one was doing the job while the others were laughing and smiling. I wanted to help, but something happened, and they managed to grab me." I felt the tears prick at my eyes.

"I fought Jason, God did I fight. But they were having too much fun, and they were getting too horny. Once they had finished off with the woman they went to me. They managed to get my pants off before I actually did something, and when I did..." I remembered that day so clearly. Those men were my first murder. And because of them I became this.

"Wally..." Jason whispered, but I continued.

"I still don't know what I did. It happened too fast." Then I scoffed at myself. "Something being too fast for a Flash, ain't that something? Anyways, next thing I knew, there was blood on my hands and there were bodies all around me." I remember the bodies so clearly. They were strung all around me, bodies with hearts that didn't beat, eyes that were lifeless.

I looked down at my hands, and suddenly I was back to that time. I didn't always prefer killing, I wasn't always a sadist, I didn't always want to kill. But, that day changed me. I was never the same, yet I did stay the same. No one else found out about that day, and I started to train. I would never let anyone get the drop on me anymore.

I got up from my table, gulped down the rest of the beer, then looked directly at his eyes. "You tell me that I have to stop this, that I should go back to my old life. The thing is, Jason, I can never go back to a lie." And then I was making to walk away.

I stopped right in front of the door, having heard him moving to catch up to me. "And please, don't follow. I'm already in too deep. Maybe you can get out. Get the Bat to help you. Get anyone to help you. But not me. It's too late. 'Sides, I walk alone." And then I was gone, speeding down the streets of Star and heading anywhere.

It would've been awesome to have someone helping me in my mission. It would be good if anyone could actually understand, but no one would. Not Robin. Not Jason. Nobody. I already learned this a year ago, and I guess it's time I re-learn it.


	4. Chapter 3

It's wonderful, actually, what some scientists say about mental illnesses. They say it's hereditary. Especially if both parents have it. Which, in a way, means I'm doomed to most probably be a drinker and abusive. Don't you just love science and logic? I've been up whole nights, staring up at the ceiling and the knife in my hand, just thinking I should put myself out of my misery. Just so I don't have to go through the changes my parents have made. But, it's also those nights were I figure it all out. I've already changed, so killing myself would get me nowhere. Wasn't that something?

It's also nights like these when I add a new name to my collection. I wish I could tattoo the names on my skin, the names of people I've let down, but there are too many. There are just too many people that I've let die because of my inability to clean up the streets correctly. So, instead of tattooing them, I write them down in a little notebook I have on me at all times. I've been wanting to get inked for some time, but my friend; who's a tattoo artist; keeps telling me that I shouldn't. I'm too young.

One of these days I'm going to run out of patience and go to another shop and get myself something nice.

My phone rang mid-run, and it was a private number. I sighed, but still answered. "Hello?"

"This the Vigilante?" A female voice asked me.

I raised an eyebrow at this, and answered, "Why the hell you asking?" I was so not in the mood.

"I was told you were the one to talk to."

"Talk to for what?"

"For a job. You know, to get someone... uh... taken care of."

I snorted, stopping in the alley that had my backpack and retrieved it. "I don't do 'jobs'. I don't take care of people. I kill pieces of scum. How the hell did you get this number?"

"Look, I really need your help. There's this man who's a murderer. Not only is he slowly killing my babies, he's also the cause of most illnesses in Gotham." That voice. I know I've heard it before. I just can't match it to a face.

"And who is this man?" I asked him.

There was a gasp on the other line, then the woman was speaking rapidly. "Meet me on the roof of the Gotham United building, today, at 6:30. All will be explained there." Then she hung up on me.

I stared down at the phone, shook my head, and started my run to L.A. This lady, whoever she was, was actually hiring my services? I've never actually done a job where I'm payed. I do this for my own satisfaction. And, well, add to the fact that I don't kill for some random person's satisfaction of their enemy being gone. I just don't roll like that.

In L.A, there was this huge problem between two gangs. The Bloods and the Crips. I decided to ignore it for a while, see if the police would actually be able to take care of some weak gangs, but now there were more than a thousand people in each gang, and it was spreading. At first, the Bloods seemed weak, the kind of gang that would get eaten up by an older gang, but they fought back. The Crips were supposed to have dominated them, but it didn't happen. And now I had to clean it up.

####

Batman looked at each of the Leaguer's face, knowing that they were all wondering why he had called them there. He had gone to the warehouse in Star, and had seen just how well that Vigilante could fight. And now that he seemed to have allied himself with the Red Hood... Now it was worrisome. His rogue son was one thing, but to have him partnered up with a man as dangerous as that Vigilante... It just wasn't good.

"So, Bats, why are we here?" Flash asked, kind of troubled at the fact that he still hadn't spoken to his nephew. Last time he had was two days ago, and he still hadn't asked Wally about his teacher.

Batman glared at him, then pulled up the feed of the vigilante fighting. All of the League looked on in awe and disgust as he cut down three men in only a few seconds. "This is a vigilante, originally from Central, but he's been expanding his horizons." Then he pulled up a video of the vigilante cutting down four men, then having some fun with the leader. "He has been attacking the gangs all over the United States, going from Central to Star, Metropolis to Faucet. Most of his murders have been low and on petty gang members, but they have been escalating to the leaders of these gangs and the people that distribute the drugs."

Then he showed the video of the vigilante talking to Red Hood, then shooting Tony as if it was the most normal of things to do.

"By Hera!" Wonder Woman exclaimed, eyes wide as saucers.

"That was Tony DiMaggio, number one heroin and cocaine supplier to most gangs in Star City. I had been on his trail ever since he started as a petty seller in Gotham, and was planning on handing him over to the police tonight."

"Guess the man beat you to it." Green Lantern said bitterly, glaring at the image of both men.

All was quiet as they thought over his words, then Flash spoke up. "Well, what are you planning on us doing with this mercenary. I mean, we've already got our hands full with only Deathstroke and Red Hood."

Batman nodded, then said something that rocked them all to their very core. "He is not a mercenary. He is doing this because he wants to."

And everyone was disgusted by this. How could someone do this? And for pleasure, much less!

"But, Batman," Captain Marvel spoke. "If he's been at this for so long, why is that we're hearing of him now?"

Batman's eyes narrowed. "He has been very good at hiding his tracks. Only on the kills that have been against big and important people has he left a note." Then he pulled up each note that the vigilante had ever written.

They all read each and every note, their sickness returning ten-fold.

"I had thought that maybe he would stop himself. He would stop this mission of murder, but after this one murder, and this meeting with Red Hood, we have to stop him ourselves. Before he hurts an innocent person." Batman told them.

The whole League agreed.

####

There's a certain satisfaction one gets from seeing the blood of their enemies strewn all around their lifeless bodies. It wasn't the happy satisfaction that one would get from accomplishing something 'good'. No, it was the satisfaction of getting rid of a bothersome thing. Like grime off the bathroom tiles. One didn't jump for joy at the blood added to their hands. At least, I didn't jump at this.

I had already taken care of a few Crips, some Bloods, and one or two Latino Kings who happened to stray too close. I had also gotten their distributors, and scared the shit out of some Jr. Bloods, telling them to get out of the game before I had to cut their heads off. One didn't get far if they didn't follow through with their threats.

Now it had been a good six hours since the mysterious lady's call, and it was nearing six p.m. I looked around the dark alley, then decided that one more pit stop wouldn't hurt. So I quickly changed into my Wally clothing, then ran to the nearest burger joint. I was starving. Killing a whole bunch of gangsters wasn't the easiest things ever.

"What would you like, sir?" The woman asked, smiling charmingly at me.

I just didn't smile. It was one thing to flirt when you needed to, but it was another to do it when you didn't need to. Now was one of those times I couldn't even if I tried. "Just give me two cheeseburgers with large fries." I told her.

She nodded, and asked, "What would you like to drink?"

"A chocolate shake."

She nodded, then purred, "That will be ten dollars."

I only gave her a ten and ignored her as she pouted. Even if I had felt okay today, I wouldn't have even thought of flirting with her. Her whole face was caked in makeup, actually reminding me some of the Joker. She also had a plastic look to her face, and we all know that isn't attractive at all. I stepped to the side, and she started to flirt with the guy ordering now. God, she was just asking to be raped in these streets.

As I waited for my food, I couldn't help but think about what had happened. While I had fought against so many gangsters I had the luxury to only be able to think of the fight at hand. But now, I was able to rethink everything. Jaon had died. I had seen him before the Joker blew the warehouse up. I had seen his broken green eyes. The very eyes that haunted my dreams almost every night.

But here he was, telling me that not only was he alive, he wanted me to go back to being innocent Wally. As if that would ever be possible. With all the crap that I've gone through just this year... I just would never be the Wally they all wanted. As soon as they gave me my food, I wolfed it down and left the joint as soon as I could. It was already six fifteen, so I only had fifteen minutes to meet with the mystery lady.

"I'm coming, weird lady." I told myself, then ran to the nearest alley.

In there I changed into my Vigilante costume, then left running for Gotham. I had only been here in my vigilante person about three times, and those times I've been there only for hunting down a select group of criminals. I didn't get very much time to explore the city. Once I finally found the Gotham United building and I ran up the side of it, there were two figures already there.

One was a green lady whom I immediately recognized as Poison Ivy, and the other was a big man, whom was Bane. I couldn't help but glare at them, but still walked towards them. I had to find out who they wanted to hit. I couldn't let an innocent die today.

"Ah, I told you he would show, Bane." Poison Ivy told her partner in her sultry voice, smiling seductively at me.

I only crossed my arms, "What is it you want?"

Bane glared at me, but handed me some files he had in his hands. "That is Demetre Donovich."

"The dude that owns D. Quilts?" I asked her, shocked that she wanted me to kill this guy.

From what I had seen on the TV, he was a philanthropist. He gave a good share of his earnings to charities, he attended balls for those kids of things, he threw balls for that, and he even had a family. This just go to show how paranoid the Gothamites are.

"Yes, he owns that, but is a very little known fact that he also controls a good part of Star Labs." She told me, and her face told me she didn't like him at all.

"Wasn't that controlled by the Government and Wayne?" I really was intrigued be this.

"It was supposed to be, chamaco." Bane told me, making me turn to him. "But for a while now, Wayne has been ignoring the labs. And, as we all know, there are as much crooked scientists as there are crooked cops." I nodded this, knowing this better than most.

"His wing has been doing worse things than Luthorcorp, and has been dumping it all close to the green houses." And as she said that, I stumbled into a picture of what these chemicals do to plants. Let's just say they looked extremely burned. "While I usually do not care about what goes on in Star Labs," She started.

"You couldn't ignore it because of where they were dumping it." I finished for her. I closed the file, then gave it back to Bane.

"Look, we know you usually only take care of gangsters who give to kids," Bane started, but I cut him off.

"This stuff, if it does this to plants, there are a whole lot of possibilities for what it could do to children." I told him.

Poison Ivy, and told me, "And the thing is, once the gas that is there gets out of that area, the first thing it will do is get to a playground. I do not want children getting hurt because of this man's carelessness." She told me. "We don't really have much to pay you with... But we can figure something out later."

I nodded, then said, "I don't normally do this, work with villains I mean. But when kids are involved..." Then I looked away, noting the Bat Symbol coming from the police station. "I'll do it."

Bane looked kind of mad at this. "What makes you so much more different than us?"

I glared at him, and started to number them off. "I don't steal, I don't destroy lives of innocents, I don't hurt innocents, I actually care about who's close to where I am, I don't try my best to tick heroes off... Do you want any more?"

He was furious at this, but Ivy placed a hand on his chest. "Bane, he will be helping us take care of this monster. Please do not make him run away." Then she turned to me, smiling deviously, "Besides, what he does could be kind of fun."

I raised an eyebrow at this, while Bane looked surprised. "Are you saying you would stop stealing and killing innocents to kill sick bastards like Demetre?" I asked her.

She only smirked, and strutted towards me. Sometimes it sucks that I was fifteen, for she was taller than me. "I actually thought you would be taller..." She mumbled to herself, then said, "Why of course I would do that! I mean, if I get a place to stay of the law, of course." She purred.

I sighed, then told her, "Lady, I don't have an actual headquarter where I can hide you. But, maybe your pal over there could get you something." At her worried face, I had to ask, "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing. I actually did nothing. But there's this copy-cat passing for me, and the police believe it's me! They know I've reformed, yet they want to grab me for something I didn't do!"

"So you broke out of Arkham with the help of Bane over there?"

"They wanted to try Electroshock therapy on me!" She squealed. "Even though I did nothing. I was in Arkham when those crimes took place."

I nodded, then sighed, knowing I would regret this. But, I know that Ivy had been on her way of getting on the parole sheet. "Look, I know a place where you can hide. I can take you there tonight after I've taken care of Demetre."

"We." Bane cut in, walking towards me. "We are helping you." He told me.

And I knew this wasn't right. I knew that I was only going down a road that would surely be my undoing. I knew that nothing good would come out working with villains... But, there were kids involved. No matter who it is, if kids are getting hurt or are going to get hurt, I'll do it. I don't care who it is. Not anymore.

"Well then, let's go before the Bat arrives." And as I ran down the street with Ivy in my arms, with Bane trailing behind on his motorcycle, I knew the Bat was glaring down at me.


	5. Chapter 4

The mansion was your standard too-rich-person's mansion. Complete with too many fat security guards, guard dogs that were too rabid, and a few too skinny servants. Seriously, this mansion; even though it was in the middle of Gotham; was gloomy compared to the Wayne Mansion. And that was on the gloomiest part of Gotham.

Ivy and I managed to get in without much trouble, most probably because we were both used to stealth, but Bane was like Bulkhead from that Transformers show. Clumsy and bumping into a lot of things. I sighed as two guards came running towards us, and threw my knives directly at their necks. Seriously, do they not know who I am? How can adults be so stupid?

We snuck through the whole house, trying to find the master bedroom. From what Ivy had told me, Demetre was not only the reason for Gotham's failing Green Houses, but also the reason for many workers having to visit the hospital unexpectedly. Whatever he was making in Star Labs, it had horrible side effects, which made people suicidal, depressed, or even catatonic. All of this leaving the physical problems out.

"Bane, you stay out, make sure nobody gets in or out of the room." I whispered to him, who nodded. Then I turned to Ivy. "You're coming with me, tie the wife up, knock her out, just don't let her see what is happening." She frowned at the instructions, but still nodded. "Let's go."

Demetre... I had actually thought he was doing good to Gotham. I thought that he would be one of those people that would help out the poor and ride Gotham of crime. I always thought that I only needed to target the gangs because the government would target the real crooked people. I guess you really can't trust the government to do anything good.

Me and Ivy slipped into the room, and all was dark and quiet. There was a huge bed there, with oversized comforters and pillows, and two bodies were being drowned in that sea of comfortableness. I glared, and as I strode towards the largest body, I couldn't help but reflect on all that I had done. All this time I had only killed scum... Killing this man would cement me as a criminal.

"Do you have the files?" I asked Ivy, who nodded.

"It's about time this bastard got what he deserved." She whispered back, then sent her plants to tie around the wife's body.

I nodded at her, then swiftly pulled the man out of the bed. I grabbed him by the collar of the pajama, and sneered when he gasped, wondering what was happening. "What is the meaning of this?" He spluttered, and I backhanded him.

"Shh..." I told him, placing a finger over my bandana. "Don't want to wake your beautiful wife, now do we?" I asked him, then Ivy motioned to me.

"This isn't his wife!" She sneered, and turned her over, to let me see it was a two dime whore.

I glared at him, and cocked my head to the side. "Sleeping with another in your own bed?" I hissed.

He now was scared. "I-I-I" He stuttered, but I didn't let him say anything else.

I threw him against the wall, making a crack appear there. "Where is the rest of your family?" I asked him. I had to know. I had to make sure they weren't going to get hurt by this. At least, not yet.

"Th-they're staying at my wife's parents." He stuttered, backing against the wall as I walked towards him.

"So you decide because they aren't here you can cheat on your wife?" Ivy sneered.

"I-I didn't mean to! I swear! I'll never do it again!" He exclaimed, making the chick sigh and wake up.

She woke up to find herself in Ivy's clutches. "Wh-what's going on?!" She asked, only to have a vines wrap around her mouth.

"You know," I told Demetre as I crouched in front of him. "I came here because of what you've been doing in Star Labs." I grabbed his chin, clutching it tightly so he had to look at me. "There are a few things in this world that can bug me." I grabbed my knife with my left hand, marveling at the blade that was now in front of me. "And those are children getting hurt, children getting hurt because of idiots like you, innocent people losing their lives because of jackasses like you, and sick bastards cheating on their loving wives."

And the knife plunged deep into his shoulder. He let out a scream, which I covered with my hand. "Shh, shh, shh, Demetre. Don't want to wake the whore up, now do we?" I asked him evilly.

I know that I said I protect innocents, but I had seen this girl's face before. While I had called her a two-dime whore, I knew better. This was the Black Widow of prostitution. Sleep with the men until morning, steal everything they had, then murder them.

He breathed deeply and fast, trying to calm down. "You know, maybe God really has it against you." I told him, then pulled my knife out and pointed at the whore, who was glaring at Ivy. "You see her there? Her name in the criminal world's Widow. Want to know why?" I asked him.

His eyes were wide as he realised what almost happened to him, making me smirk. "But you see, you're not saved. You're not getting out of here alive, Mr. Donovich. You're going to hell tonight, especially with what you've done to your family." Then the knife was lodged into his chest. "You know, I've always wondered why they say the good die young," I told him, twisting the knife deeper into his chest. "When it's always bastards like you that end up dead on the street."

He almost screamed in pain, but I had never moved my hand away. I smiled sadistically as his breathing became deeper and more violent, and I took the knife out again. There was a knock on the door, then Bane screamed, "Hurry up amigos. They called the police!"

I smiled evilly at Demetre, then got close to his ear. My hand moved down to his stomach, and I whispered, "Have a nice trip to hell." I told him, then the knife went deep into his stomach. I got up from him, wiping the knife on my coat, then turned to Ivy, who had finished strangling Widow. "Finished?" I asked her, making her smile.

"That bitch killed one of my friends. She got exactly what was coming to her."

Bane kicked the door down, throwing two security guards inside, then yelled, "Let's go!"

I carried Ivy out of the window using my speed, and we were on the garden, where Bane left his bike. We left a little before the police arrived, and when they did, Batman was there with them. Maybe I should start using glasses or colored contacts. My eyes would be too much of a liability if I started hanging around this crowd.

I led them towards a safehouse I knew of a few miles out of Gotham, then set Ivy down. "Listen, I have to get going." I told them, looking down at my watch. Already eight.

"Thank you so much, V." Ivy told me, hugging me and catching me by surprise.

Bane placed a hand on my shoulder, and said, "You have no idea how much this means, chico."

I nodded at him then returned Ivy's hug. "I'll be passing by tomorrow, and if this place is a bust, I'll move you more towards Central. Where I operate." I explained.

Both of them nodded, then they went inside the safehouse, letting me run back to Keystone. In an alley there I changed into my Wally clothes, and went back home.

####

"Where is Kid Flash?" Batman asked, looking at all of the teens that were assembled in front of him.

All of the team was already dressed and ready for action, well, all of them but Wally. Who was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't know, Batman. I've tried calling him dozens of times, but he hasn't answered." Robin told him.

Batman nodded, then decided he had waited enough for Kid Flash. He would just have to send the team without the speedster. "Well, Kid Flash is not going with you. You will adapt. Here is your mission."

He had to get the team out of the U.S for the time being. He couldn't risk these children. The League had decided it would be the best course of action to get them out while this vigilante was running rampant. They couldn't lose these kids.

####

"You worthless piece of shit!" Mary yelled as she struck my face.

I didn't cower back in fear as she hoped, so she hit me once more. Come on, continue bitch. Give me reason to hurt you. Give me reason to cause you real pain.

"Mary, leave some for me!" The drunk slur of my father came from the kitchen, then he stumbled inside, nursing a bottle of beer.

I glared at him, but didn't move from my spot. Apparently, arriving home a few minutes before curfew was also a crime. My parents didn't quite like me much, especially my mom. From what I heard from their pillow talk, they were aiming for another kid, a good one, one that wasn't a complete monster. After they had one; which I'd be damned to actually allow; they would throw me to the streets.

"Why don't you two go for some happy time?" I suddenly blurted, moving a little to the side and away from my dad's broken bottle. "You know, shoot for another one?" I asked them.

They both seemed to have a realization right then, and before I could even leave, they were kissing and humping. God, so not a good picture. I sped down to the basement, my room for whenever they tried to have kids, and sighed as soon as I closed the door. I looked into the damp room, feeling both emptiness and happiness. Emptiness because there was no one else around, and happiness for the same reason. God, what the hell is wrong with me?

I pushed off from the wall and walked down the stairs, standing in front of the large mirror I had placed there for days I felt like this. I slowly pulled off my shirt, and my eyes landed on the reflection of myself. My green eyes looked hollower, wiser, as if they had seen more than they should have. Which, was very, very true. I slowly looked down to my neck, finding little scratch marks, which were made by me. Those wore on the days my parents grounded me with no water back when I was younger. Those marks would never leave me.

I slowly looked down at my shoulders, finding little stab scars. Some of them really old, some extremely new. Some were made by my parents, other by gang members or some kind of scum. My eyes raked down my figure, taking in every single bump and scar, remembering what happened to me on that exact day. My wrists were over flowing with thin wire like scars, made from the times I was tied down to my bed post. If I raised my pant leg, the same marks would be found on my ankles.

I slowly turned my arm, showing my forearm. That was filled with slices, long and short, all made by me. I made a new slit every time someone died because of my incompetence, and they would be many if it were up to me. These were slowly fading, seeing that my fast ass metabolism didn't allow my new injuries to last for very long. Sadly, that seemed to worsen me up, because for some odd reason, each scar I had from before the day I got my powers didn't seem to fade at all.

Then my eyes trailed towards my chest. I was actually pretty well built, better than what most people would expect, but I wore baggy shirts and jeans to cover it up. My whole chest was full of different scars, varying in size and memory. Some could be from my dad, others my mom, few were made because of both of them, then there was an odd one that was done by something completely different than my parents. Those were the ones I treasured the most. Those were the ones that reminded me that evil didn't belong exclusively to my parents.

Then I turned my back to the mirror, showing the worst kind of scars. The scars from my lashings. Those were also fading fast because they were made only a day or two ago, but those were the ones that stung the most. After I got my powers, my parents decided I was already big enough to take on knives and whips. They were some sick ass mother fuckers right there.

I sighed and walked towards the sink I had installed in the basement, turned it on, then plunged my hands into the water. It was when I looked at my scars that the blood reappeared all over my body. I saw red in my hands, my chest, my pants, shoes, face, all along the walls... I saw it everywhere. I saw the lifeless eyes staring down at me, never moving, no emotion in them... Nothing inside. I saw the bodies piled high on the floor, almost a wall that I could never break through.

I had once read that murderers that actually had some kind of humanity left were usually plagued by their kills, but that wasn't what was plaguing me. It was the blood of the innocents I hadn't saved. The lifeless eyes whose lights had been turned off before time. The bodies that had been raped, tortured, maimed, assaulted, battered, and much worse before they were finally allowed the sweet covering of death. That was what plagued me now.

The first time I had killed I had seen the men's blood on my hands for days. Those stretched into weeks, and eventually, months. But I got used to living with soiled hands. I was able to come to terms to killing those men. I wasn't able to get over the fact that the woman I had failed to save died in the hospital only an hour after I took her. She was the first person whom I saw.

She used to follow me around at the oddest of times. I saw her in the playground, when I was fighting the Rogues, when I was playing around, anywhere I went, it was like she was following me. After some time, she started talking. Telling me what I had to do. Showing me what would happen if I didn't do what I had to.

"Go to sleep, my vigilante." She told me, suddenly appearing out of the darkness.

My vision suddenly went black, and I slumped onto the floor, the quiet rhythm of water falling in the sink slowly lulling me to sleep.


	6. Chapter 5

"You could have saved me!" Jason yelled, wearing the same broken Robin costume as the one he wore when he died. "You could have! Why weren't you fast enough!? You stupid incompetent buffoon!"

His face melted, slowly turning into the face of the Demetre. "So, I am in hell," He spoke, wearing a tuxedo, and his hair was slicked back. "I am happy here." He told me, showing me his cup of champagne and the whores on his arms. "You failed, 'vigilante'."

"You worthless son of a bitch!" And suddenly Demetre was Mary, slapping my face. "It's your fault we can't have another kid! Why are you such a dissapointment?!"

Then she suddenly Rudy popped from her waist, yelling and screaming in a language I couldn't comprehend.

"I'm sorry!" I yelled, trying to shield myself from the hits I got from all four people

The laughter! The laughter was driving me insane! They were laughing at me, mocking me!

"Such a child!" Demetre chuckled, breaking the cup and movingn to cut me.

"Worthless piece of shit!" My parents laughed together, beating me senseless.

"Why didn't you save me!?"

"Why didn't you stop me!?"

The screams were getting louder! So was the laughter! God make it stop!

And suddenly I woke up in the damp basement, body slick with sweat. I got up from the floor, panting heavily from the nightmare I just had. I passed a hand through my sweat slicked hair, not quite sure what the dream meant. I understood the Jason bit, but the other three were uncalled for. I looked towards the clock on the wall, only to find it was five in the morning. I had two and a half hours before I actually had to go to school.

I turned to the small TV I had in the room, and turned it on. I moved to the fridge to grab myself cereal, and served it in a broken bowl, not really caring if it was dirty or clean. I served the warm milk into the bowl, and started to eat, munching loudly at the stale food. The television was on the news, the only channel that actually worked, and Aunt Iris was talking.

"The government has issued that the vigilante is now a nation wide fugitive. In never before seen footage, we can see the vigilante speaking to the mercenary, Red Hood." Aunt Iris spoke, and a little box appeared, showing me speaking with the Red Hood. I wasn't really all that surprised at this. It was a matter of time before the government had to get involved.

"The Red Hood is wanted in different states and countries, all for drug and gun charges, along with a few assault charges. He is a mercenary, also wanted for the assasination of many government leaders in different countries." Jason always wanted to be the show-stopper. "For this very reason, we have reason to believe that this vigilante is now also a mercenary." She stared into the camera, then something came in. "Wait, we've just gotten exclusive information! It appears that the vigilante has murdered Demetre Donovich, along with a prostitute he had hired."

Maybe now the truth will come out.

"Demetre Donovich was the leader of D. Quilts, and he had a wife and loving family. It seems the vigilante tried to place blame on him for the recent spike in sickness in Gotham, but investigators assure that Mr. Donovich had nothing to do with it."

I just stared at the TV, wondering if my aunt had gone crazy. I had basically given her the story of her life on a silver platter! And she didn't take it? What the fuck?

"To me, it seems this vigilante is no more a vigilante, but a petty criminal. He was seen working with Bane and Poison Ivy to commit this murder, and we've been told the prostitute found with Mr. Donovich was planted there by said vigilante." Her eyes were set. She actually believed this shit. "We do not have to worry about the mercenary Red Hood for now, he is in the custody of the Justice League. Now, while I know some of you may be saying this is not right, he is being kept in the Watchtower, where, if he escapes, he won't be able to reach Earth for some time. And the vigilante will not be able to help him escape if he is in space."

My God. I had never felt so angry before in my life. I felt angry and betrayed. My aunt was insulting me to the whole world, and she didn't even care. Sure, she didn't know I was the vigilante, but it still hurt. I threw my bowl of stale cereal at the wall, making it break and fall in pieces.

"How the fuck could you be so stupid?" I growled, starting to pace around the room. "This isn't good." I muttered to myself. "I'm a criminal now. They're looking for me. I can't go out and kill for a while… not with the heat that'll be set."

Then there was a ring, making me jump out of my skin. I growled as I found it was my phone, and flipped it open brusquely, not caring if it broke. "What?!" I barked.

"Whoah, down, Fido." Robin told me, making me growl.

"What the fuck do you want, troll?"I growled. I shouldn't be speaking to him like this. Why am I speaking like this?

"Geez, someone woke up on the wrong end of the bed. Why so pissy?"

I had to think up of a lie. There was no way in hell that I would tell him the truth. And something hit me. "You woke me up at five in the morning, troll! What do you expect?" I had to calm down. My anger would hurt me.

There was a pause on the other line, then Robin spoke. "Yeah, sorry about that, Walls. It's just we're worried about you."

And I was surprised at this. "Why? What happened?"

"Dude, did you not hear Barry knocking on your door yesterday? Your parents told him you were gone, and he's made the whole League be on edge." My parents didn't tell me Uncle B passed by. As expected, they just beat me.

"When did that happen?" I asked him, sitting down on a rickety chair.

"Yesterday at about six. Dude, the whole League's on edge because of this vigilante. They have us going on wild goose chases as missions so we're not in the US until they capture him." He told me. He sounded really annoyed at this.

"Wait, they're hunting for the vigilante? Why?"

"Did you not hear? He's been working with Red Hood, Ivy, and Bane. Everyone's on edge because of this."

He likes saying edge. "So they just want to capture him? Like that? Was he seen with them, or do they really know he's been working with them? Has he done anything really criminal? Or is the government just afraid of letting him loose?" I asked him. At least one person had to wonder if the vigilante really was working with them.

"Well, he did murder Demetre Donovich, Walls. With help from Bane and Ivy."

"Rob, you didn't answer my question. Yeah, he did work with them, but did he leave a note or something? Didn't he always leave one in the big hits?"

"Well yeah, he said that Demetre had been causing all of the major illnesses in Gotham, but that's not-" And I cut him off.

"Geez, Rob! Weren't you the detective?!" I growled. Why was I so explosive? "Shouldn't you be looking at all the facts! Has that vigilante lied about his hits before?! Did you think that maybe Demetre is to blame?!"

There was silence from the other line, most probably because Robin was shocked at my outburst. "Wally, what… What's wrong?"

I sighed, squeezing my eyes tight. "Nothing, Rob. Everything is absolutely a-fucking-mazing."

"Wally, seriously, is anything wrong? I'm sure I can get the team to come to you."

"Geez, Rob, what don't you get about I'm okay?!" I finally yelled. "I'm okay, I'm fine! I've told everybody today, I don't. Need. Any. Help." I growled, enunciating my words. "I don't need the fucking fakes to come over! I'm okay!"

"Wally, what are you talking about? Nobody on this team is fake."

I scoffed at his words, and said, "Yeah. Sure. Just ask M'gann or Artemis. They'll sure tell you the truth." Then I hung up.

I sighed and passed a hand through my hair, not sure what was happening. Why was I so volatile? Then, the phone rang once more, making me growl as I picked it up. It was Robin. Oh hell no. So, I just threw it at the wall, making it break because of the force.

"Why can't they just leave me alone?!" I screamed.

I panted, placing my hands on my head to calm down my anger. I don't quite understand why I'm like this. It's just that his voice! His voice was grating! Everybody else's voice was grating! It seemed that the only voice that didn't actually hurt were the voices of...

"What the hell's wrong with me?" I asked, catching myself from those thoughts.

"Go visit them. You said you would pass by." The woman told me, suddenly reappearing behind me, drapping her arms across my shoulders and over my chest.

"But, it would be too soon. The police is most probably all over the country looking for me." I told her.

"Just go, silly." She smiled at me, making me look up at her and nod. She knew what she was doing. I actually trusted her.

I put on a shirt, grabbed my backpack, then left my house to visit Ivy and Bane. When I reached their safehouse, I was already dressed in my vigilante gear, and I knocked on the door rapidly as I saw headlights growing on the streets.

The heavy door slowly opened to reveal Ivy in a bathrobe, but I didn't care right now. I pushed inside then locked the door, leaving my back pressed against it until I was sure the car was gone.

"V? What are you doing here?" Ivy asked me sleepily, most probably looking me up and down.

I sighed, taking off my hat and letting her see my red hair. I also took off my trench coat and threw it on the sofa closest to me, and passed a hand through my hair, letting her all of my scars. I don't know why, but when I entered... There was this surge of warmth throughout my body. It felt as if I actually belonged here. Her eyes widened as she saw all of the lines, and she quickly went into mother hen mode.

"My God, V, what happened?" She asked me, now alert.

I smirked at her, also throwing the backpack on the sofa. "Nothing you should worry your pretty littled head over, Ivy." I told her.

She frowned at this, crossing her arms and jutting her hip out. Well shit, now she looked like a real mother. "Now you listen her, Victor Isley, if I ask you about something, you better answer me."

I cocked an eyebrow at her, and asked, "Are you now my mom?"

She gasped like a fish at this, then nodded. "Yes. You have my hair and my eyes."

I chuckled at this and crossed my arms, "Is Bane my daddy?"

She smiled cockily at me, and took a step towards me, poking my chest with each word, "Yes he is."

Lumbering footsteps came down the steps at that moment, and I found Bane, also wearing a sleeping robe. "What is going on?" He asked, most probably having missed our little 'mother-son' moment.

I cocked an eyebrow at Ivy, and she nodded my consent. Sadly, I didn't say what she wanted me to say. "Ivy says she's my mom and you're my dad."

Bane's eyes widened at this, and I think he actually believed her words. "Wait, how could that have happened?!" He exclaimed. "We used protection!"

I was actually caught by surprise at this. I stared at Ivy with wide eyes, and she blushed and spluttered. "Bane, you idiot! It was a joke!"

He was caught by surprise at this, but he only turned away, muttering something about having to leave. I looked back at Ivy, who was blushing furiously, and I couldn't help but laugh. "You and Bane? For real?"

She smacked my arm, but I continued laughing. "Shut up, Victor."

"Wait, why are you naming me? I have a name that isn't 'V', you know that, right?" I asked her.

She nodded, but said, "As long as you're in my house, you will go by the name I give you. And today that is Victor." And she walked towards the kitchen, an air of confidence sorrounding her. "Besides, I think it's good you passed by."

I followed her, and peeked towards the family room as she served some coffee for both of us. She had also seen the news. "You know?" I asked her, my voice sad.

She smiled at me, then grabbed my chin, gingerly forcing me to look at her. "Come on, V. This is the Justice League we're talking about. They've locked Red up in their satellite, when they know he's dangerous. They're not thinking straight."

I don't know, but with Ivy... I felt like one should with real family. After having her confide so much in me, I felt like she was someone I could actually trust. Plus, the fact that her voice actually soothed me helped. It helped a lot.

"How much sugar you like in your coffee?" She asked me, going back to serving the cups.

"Tons." I answered, glaring at my aunt as she finished up the latest story.

As Ivy handed me my cup, she noticed who I was glaring at. "You can't hate her, you know." She told me.

I lifted my bandana slightly and took a long sip of my coffee, then turned to her, "Why? She completely ignored the files, the facts layed out for her. Some reporter she is."

She smiled understandingly at me, and layed a hand on my shoulder. "Hey now, Victory, we all feel that way at some time. Every single villain and mercenary out there has felt this at least once in their careers. Well, at least the ones that do what they do because of a mission."

"How would you know?" I asked her, now knowing how Superboy felt most of the time. Misunderstood.

"I went through that. I mean, throughout my whole career, all that I've done has been to save the planet. But does anyone else see that? No, they just see another psycho using self-righteous words to fuel her insane mission."

I glanced up at her from my mug, and asked, "Is it true? I mean, do you believe you are the only good?"

She sighed and shook her head, turning away. "No, I don't. I mean, God must have given me these powers for some reason, but I still haven't found it. But one day... You'll see, Victor, one day the planet will be back to being healthy, and I assure you, that will be the day I can die peacefully."

I smiled at her, actually feeling content for once. I never had any kind of talk like this with anyone before. My parents didn't speak to me, my friends didn't understand me, and the rest of the world is clueless. It seems that Ivy did.

She turned away from me, strutting towards the couch and changed the channel. There was Tom and Jerry playing, and she smiled back at me as she patted the seat next to her. "Come on, Victor. Let's relieve some of my childhood." She told me.

I smiled and walked towards her, sitting down and letting her pull me closer to her. I've never been in this kind of situation. This was another kind of embrace. It wasn't one which felt awkward or forced. It felt natural. She started stroking my red hair, then suddenly blurted, "You do know you need to find a name, right?"

I smiled at her, then said, "What, something like Plant Boy?"

She smacked my arm once more, then said, "Nah. It can't have anything to do with nature. I don't want anybody using you against me."

I nodded, and was actually surprised. Heh, maybe there still is hope for humanity. But, I guess I've been looking for it on the wrong end of the spectrum. Maybe this was my home. My true home. Among these two criminals.


	7. Chapter 6

Robin stood in the front porch of the West household, Kaldur and Conner standing on each of his side. Kaldur because he was an old friend of Wally, and Conner because Mary and Rudy both knew him. He knocked three times on the door, then stood waiting patiently for an answer.

It was already twelve in the afternoon, which should have given Wally enough time to calm down so they could talk.

Mary opened the door with a bright smile, but that turned into surprise when she saw who it was. "Robin? Kaldur? Conner? What are you doing here?" She asked.

Robin smiled reassuringly at him, and said, "We're looking for Wally, Mrs. West."

She nodded a this, but frowned a little. "He isn't here, you guys. He already left for school."

And just then the phone rang, making Mary go and tend to it. "Come in." She called back, and all three boys entered the house. "Hello? Yes, this is her." Mary spoke as the boys sat down in the living room.

Her expression changed into surprise. "No, he isn't here." All of the boys were looking at her intently now. "Why, he left before we could even see him this morning." Mary told the caller. "Yes, I'll ask around." And then she hung up.

All boys sat up straighter, and Robin asked, "Is something wrong, Mrs. West?"

Her eyes were wide, and she barely whispered, "Wally didn't go to school."

All of the boy's eyes widened at this, and Robin quickly went on detective mode. "Mrs. West, was he acting weird when he arrived home?"

She nodded, "He was quiet, more reserved. Didn't chatter about he did that day."

Robin frowned at this, and Kaldur placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why do you ask this, Robin?"

Robin decided it was time they knew about the conversation. "I called Wally at five in the morning to ask where he was, just to make sure that he was okay. He was... different, to say the least. He started ranting about the vigilante, then hung up on me when I asked if he wanted us to come over."

Conner frowned at this, then got up. "Did you call him again?"

Robin nodded, and said, "Yeah, but it went straight to voice mail. Mrs. West," He said, turning to the woman who looked to be on the verge of tears. "Can we look through Wally's room? You know, to see if anything's out of place."

She nodded, then said, "He hasn't been staying in his room for the last few nights."

"Where has he be staying?" Kaldur asked her.

"He's been living in the basement. Rudy and I've tried to get him out, but he just wouldn't listen."

The three boys nodded, then followed Mary down to the basement. What they found wasn't pretty. There were thin lines of blood along some parts of the wall, Wally's phone was broken on the floor, and so was the bowl. But the most haunting thing was what was in the mirror.

"Mrs. West, call Barry. We're going to need some real detectives here." Robin told her, as Mary gasped at the mirror.

Written on it, in blood, were the words "Useless" "Stupid" "Dumb-ass excuse for Vigilante.". Robin and Conner looked at each other, wondering what this meant, as Kaldur took Mary away from this place.

"We need to get Batman in here."

After Bane had come down from his embarassment, he had sat down next to Ivy, and we all watched Tom and Jerry af it were the most normal thing there. I smiled at him, noticing how embarassed he was, and told him, "You know, now Ivy wants me to call you guys my parents."

He froze at this, then asked, "Do you not have parents already, chico?"

I frowned at this, and said, "I'd rather forget them."

Both of them frowned at this, and Ivy asked, "Are they dead?"

I shook my head, "They're very much alive. It's just that... the things they did are not normal for parents."

They both seemed to understand this, and got mad. Bane seemed to be ready to punch someone, while Ivy seemed to want to unleash some plants.

"It's nothing you guys. Look, I have to leave. I'm going to get in trouble if I don't go back soon." I told them, getting up from the couch.

Both of them followed, and Bane asked, "Why must you leave?"

I put on my trench coat and hat, and as I grabbed my backpack, I told them, "I skipped my finals today. I was supposed to meet up with my friends after school. And I was supposed to join my mom on finding the perfect Christmas gift for my family. I'm pretty sure if I don't go back now, I'm screwed."

I slung my backpack over my shoulder, then found myself in a tight embrace. Bane hugged me tightly, then let go, holding me by the shoulders. "If you ever need me to bash someone heads in, don't hesitate. I still owe you."

I nodded, then Ivy wrapped her arms around me. "Don't you dare ignore us, Victor. You will come back tomorrow, and you will explain everything." She ordered.

"I can't tell you everything." I whined.

"Everything about your vigilante life, Victor. I do not care about your other life. But anything that has to do with being a vigilante, you will tell me."

I nodded, then walked towards the door. "See you later." I told them, saluted, then ran out the door.

When I got back to Keystone, I changed and left my backpack in an alleyway, something telling me that I shouldn't get home with my vigilante things. I walked towards my home, stopping on my way to get some ice cream. As I finished my chocolate treat, I arrived at my house, only to find that there were squad cars all around. Along with some detective cars, and police all around it.

In the middle of all the chaos my mom was crying with my dad supporting her, and they were telling a cop something. I saw Kaldur, Conner, and Dick all talking to another cop, but for what, I had no idea.

I had to make a decision right there. Find out what was going on, or leave and wait for the news. Go with Poison Ivy and Bane once more, or stay with my crazy ass family? For some odd reason, my feet started walking towards the house without my permission, but before I could even figure out what I was doing, I was already walking up to my three friends.

"What's going on?" My mouth voiced without my permission, making the three turn to me.

And suddenly I was enveloped in a hug by Conner. It was tight and bone-crushing, but also scared and worried. My eyes were wide at this, but I quickly returned the gesture, making sure to give him the comfort he needed. Once he let go of me, I asked him, "What's up, Con?"

He then, out of nowhere, punched me. "Where the hell have you been?" He growled.

I yelped at the hit, jumped, and whined, "What'd you do that for, Conner?"

And then Robin punched me. "That's for making us worry. Conner's was for Disappearing without telling anyone where you were going."

And, to finish it off, Kaldur placed a hand on my shoulder after lightly smacking me. "And that is for what you did."

I looked at him as if he were crazy, not quite sure what he meant. "What are you-" I started, but was quickly cut off by my Uncle Barry hugging me tightly.

"Oh God, Wally!" He cheered, jumping up and down with me in his arms. "I was so worried! You had everybody worried! We sent out search groups, and cops, and, and, and," And suddenly he put me down and slapped my arm, quickly turning into a pissed off uncle. "And why the hell did you leave?! And like that?!"

I rubbed my arm, stunned at him. What the hell happened while I was gone?

"What's going on?!" I yelled, stopping my uncle in his rant.

He stared at me in anger and shock, and Robin pulled me away. "Dude, what happened to you?" He asked me.

I just gave him a duh look. "I went for a run, Rob. Nothing new."

His eyes widened behind the sunglasses, then Kaldur turned me around, "Wally, has something been going on? Anything we should know about?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, and slowly asked, "Why do you sound like that, Kal? You sound like Dinah."

He and the other three shared a look, then Uncle Barry was grasping my arm, trying to lead me away. "Come on, Walls, let's go talk somewhere more private." He told me, his anger seeming to have left him.

I felt a little bit unsure, but I followed him so we were on the neighbor's lawn, and my three friends were a few feet behind us. But, they were sorrounding us. It was loose, but they were there.

"Wally, your friend's came to visit you, Rob told me you blew up at him on the phone." He told me, voice caring and sincere.

I sighed and rolled my eyes, "Uncle B, he woke me up at five in the morning, anyone would be-" But he cut me off.

"Wally, that's not the only thing that got him worried. You called your team fake." He whispered.

I frowned at this, but said nothing. "Wally, your mom got a call from the school, you never went there." He continued prying.

I clenched my fists, but my face showed complete calm. What was he getting at? What did he knew?

"Robin, Kaldur, and Conner went down to the basement, Walls. They found blood there. Your blood." He continued.

I looked away, grinding my eyes and my teeth. Damn. I was really careless this time. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" He asked me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

It burned. Just like Jason's. I shrugged it off, my voice turning steely. "I don't need to talk to anyone, Uncle Barry."

I knew my words hurt him, but I couldn't face him. I couldn't look at him. He was the exact opposite of what I stood for. I couldn't... It hurt too much.

"Is there anything you-" Robin tried, but I wouldn't listen and cut him off.

"There's nothing I need, Rob." I hissed. "Well, maybe less nosy friends." I sneered at all of them, making Conner look away.

"Wally, we only want what is best for you." Kaldur tried placing a hand on my shoulder, but I took a step back, not looking at any of them.

"No, Fish Sticks, you only want what is best for the League." I sneered.

I know I was hurting them, but I couldn't... I couldn't stop. I glared up at all of them, tears pricking my eyes. "You only want what you believe is best." I growled.

Uncle Barry was stunned at this. "Wally, where'd you hear that?"

I chuckled without humor, rolling my eyes at him. What am I doing? "Oh please, Uncle B, how many times has the Bat done some crazy ass stunt to ensure the success of the mission and not the safety of his teammates? How many times have you left someone to make sure the mission succeeds? How can you live with yourself, knowing that at the end of the day, no matter what you say you do, you will always be fake?" I sneered.

Now he was stunned silent. But Robin and Kaldur quickly took his place. "Wally, are you sure you're okay?" Rob asked. "You know as well as I do that that isn't true."

I laughed a hollow laugh, and told him, "How dare you tell me this, Dick?" I sneered. "Oh, right, you're the over-protected ward. Batman's ward." Then I spit on the floor, not caring about his betrayed face. "Do you know why I called my team fake?" I asked, feeling exceedingly over-confident.

Conner was glaring at me, Kaldur seemed to be trying his best to control his emotions, Robin was plain old betrayed, and Uncle Barry was still stunned. I smirked at them, crossed my arms, and continued, "Okay, I'll still tell you. You're girlfriend, Conny," I pointed at him, "Has been trying to erase my memories this whole fucking month."

That hit him hard. He seemed shocked and betrayed at this. "I found out what she really was, and she's been trying to make me forget all about it. She's been practically mind raping me!" Then my smirk turned eerily sadistic. "Well, that was until I yelled at her. Told her to stop or I'd tell on her."

And that seemed to make something in his pretty little brain click. But before he could say anything, I turned back to Robin. "And you're girlfriend is the fakest of the fake!" Then I remembered something. "Wait, not Zatanna, Arty! Yeah, she's a shadow, and she's been selling most of our information to the Light." I said it so casually I'm pretty sure he had to think twice of it.

"And," I dragged out, "Let's not forget the fact that Kaldur would drop everything for Tula and that Conner would kill us before he let someone even look at M'gann the wrong way." Why was I saying this? But, I couldn't stop. It felt so good. I felt so much weight leave my shoulders by just saying this.

And Robin was glaring at me with so much hate that I was surprised I didn't blow up. "And what about you and me, huh, Wally? It seems you have dirt on all of us." He growled.

I smiled at him, and scoffed. "Well, on you, it's quite simple. I have your identity." I told him cockily, then got serious, and rubbed a fake beard on my chin. "And, well, on myself? Hmm... I guess I'm squeaky clean!"

"Wally, this is not funny. These allegations could seriously hurt your teammates." Uncle Barry tried to tell me, but I didn't listen to him.

I still had my last statement in min, so, I glared at Robin and sneered. "Wait, wait, hold the presses! You want to know why you found blood down there, Dickie-bird?" I asked him, speeding towards him and grasping his chin tightly. "I cut myself. I take out all my frustrations and anger on myself, hurting myself," I smirked at his terrified face. "But, what would you know about that? Huh, Rich Boy?" Then I let him go.

I walked back towards where I was, hands in pockets and cocky smirk in place. "I mean, with all my screwed up life, what's another scar?" I asked them, moving my arms to be elevated at my sides.

They all seemed confused at this, and I sighed. I took off my shirts, letting them see the truth. There was a gasp from Robin and Uncle Barry, while Conner's and Kaldur's eyebrows shot up.

"What, you never seen traces of child abuse?" I asked them, then put my shirt back on, covering my scars once more.

"Wally, I don't know what you're getting on, but, please, stop." Robin pleaded.

I laughed once more my hollow laugh, then glared at him. "I'm getting at this, Bird-brain," And I sped towards him, poking his chest with each word. "Stop trying to figure me out, 'cause I'm too crazy for you."

And then there was a dark presence behind me, and Batman tried to grasp my hand and shove it away from Robin. But I was too quick, and grasped it, moving so that I was holding it behind Batman's back with an iron grip. "And you," I sneered, "Don't ever try to catch me by surprise one more. I'll just have to break your arm next time."

Then I released him, speeding backwards once more.

"What do you think you're doing, Wallace?" Batman growled, glaring at me.

I chuckled at him, "What, you think I'm that ten year old that would piss his pants because of that pitiful glare, Bats?" I asked him.

And then Uncle Barry was behind me, restraining me. "Hey, get the fuck off!" I growled, stuggling and vibrating to get out.

"Bats, do something! I don't know what's wrong with him, but he's been like this since he got here!" Barry yelled over my curses, and Batman glare.

"I. Said. Get. Off!" I finished, grabbing him by the arm and throwing him over my back, and towards the Bat.

"I don't need any help. I don't want any help. And I'm leaving." I growled, then sped towards my backpack.

Why did I do that? I've basically blown my cover. When I got to the alley way, I felt the pure impact of what I had just said. "Oh God, Dick..." I whispered, slowing down in my run to slide down the wall. "What have I done?" I asked myself, the tears pricking my eyes. "Oh God, I've screwed everything up." And I broke down crying right then.


	8. Chapter 7

It was now snowing in Star City. It was hard to believe that only a day or two ago it was that I was here, killing Tony DiMaggio and meeting my old; and supposedly dead; childhood best friend. I held my backpack tightly, not wanting to lose it. I... I don't know what I was doing here. I had already fucked up with my _best_ friend and partner in crime, along with my other two good friends... I didn't want to screw up with Roy too.

But, I had nowhere else to go. If I didn't stay with him, I would have to go back to Ivy and Bane, and I didn't want to explain to them why I was back so soon. Well, not yet.

I walked up the stairs of the run down apartment, then knocked on Roy's door. I waited for a few minutes, then there was Roy's always happy growl.

"Who're you?" He growled.

I smirked at him, and said, "Who do you think? Who else do you know who has red hair, green eyes, and knows where you live?"

His eyes widened in realization, "Wally? What are you doing here?" He asked me, unlocking the door and opening it.

He didn't have a shirt on, but that was nothing new for him. And, if one looked intently, you would find a girl crawling out of the window. "Seriously, Roy? Can't let them leave through the front?" I asked him, making him and the girl freeze.

"Wally," He growled, trying to sound intimidating, but his blush wasn't letting me take him seriously.

I walked straight through him and towards the girl, grabbed her hand, and kissed it. "Hello, Mystery Lady. I'm sorry about my lack of good timing, but you don't have to leave like that. Do not degrade yourself like this." I told her, then helped her step down from the window. "If you must leave, please go through the door." I told her.

She smiled at me, then smirked at Roy, "This kid's nicer than you told me, Roy."

I cocked an eyebrow at him, "You actually speak about me? You haven't forgotten me?"

Her bright green eyes shown of mischief as her hand slipped out of my own. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Wallace." She smirked at me, as she passed by Roy, kissing him. "Please do return." Then she left, making me smile.

"Quite an old lady, Roy Joy." I told him, crossing my arms.

He glared at me, then closed the door. "What are you doing here, Wally?" He asked me, walking towards the kitchen, most probably to make coffee.

"You making coffee?" I asked him, trailing behind.

"Yeah." And he started to make it. As he did it, he turned to me, "Since when do you drink coffee?" He asked me.

I shrugged, and said, "Since shit started happening. Keeps me alert in my every day life." Not a total lie.

He didn't seem to actually believe this, but still accepted it as an answer. "So, you aren't in Star for any odd reason. Are you by any chance missing from Keystone?" He asked me, turning so he could start to make himself breakfast.

I froze at this question, "How do you know?" I asked him.

He chuckled, then turned back to me, "Mother Hen Barry called me a few hours ago, asking me if I had heard from you. Told me you never got to school and asked if I was with you."

So Barry still hadn't called him after my little episode. He cocked an eyebrow at how distressed I looked, then slowly walked towards me. "Wally what did you do?" He asked me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

It burned. Just like Barry's and Jason's. But I didn't flinch or move away. God, I could afford another slip up.

"I... I... God, Roy," I said, falling onto the stool he had in front of his island. "I screwed up, man. I screwed up big time."

I didn't see his face, but I knew he was confused. "Wally, what do you mean?" He asked.

"God, Roy, I fucked up so badly. I insulted everybody. From Uncle B to Batman." I said, looking up at Roy.

He was shocked at my words, and he froze. I looked away once more, and felt the tears coming once more. "I knew you would react like this. God, why did I even come here?" I asked myself, then moved to get up, only for Roy to hold me down.

"Wally, what exactly did you do?" He asked me, his grip tightening as I tried to get up once more.

"I-I-I... Look, Roy... You don't need to worry 'bout this. It's my own shit. Not yours." But before I could say anything else, there was a knock on the door.

Roy glared at me, silently telling me to on to move, then went into his room. He put on a shirt, then answered the door. There was a tall white man, dressed like a gangbanger. His head was shaved, but the tattoo on his head was a clear indicator of who he was. IKA. Imperial Klans of America. Piece of white trash.

"Roy, where's the money?" He asked in a gruff voice, making me glare.

"Roy, what does he mean?" I asked, getting up from my seat and walking towards him. "And what are you doing out of Kansas?" I asked him.

My own state had a gang problem with these men. They were all like the Ku Klux Klan, deciding to hate on anyone that isn't white, and hurting anyone that goes against them.

He glared at me and sneered, and said, "It ain't none of your problem, kid. But, if you'd like, we can talk about you joining, like Roy here."

I looked at Roy as if he were crazy; cause I just know he is; then glared at the man. "What's your name, man?"

"They call me Young Blood." He answered.

I chuckled at him, then asked, "And why are you here, Young?"

I'm sure that now he thinks he's going to get a new recruit. "Roy here needs to pay for his purchases."

I nodded, hummed, and asked, "And what are those purchases?"

"Wally, this is none of your business." Roy growled, grabbing me by the arm and trying to pull me away.

I sneered at him, and smiled up at Young Blood. "Ignore him right now, he's a bit delirious from his night out. What have been the purchases?" I asked him.

Young Blood nodded, then showed me a a bag full of white powder. My eyes widened, then I glared at Roy. "Tell me you didn't get into the Klan for the heroin." I growled at him, grabbing _him_ by the arm.

He seemed surprised at my outburst, and I could tell he was thinking of lying. "Whoah, little brother, no need to get on Roy like that. We're all family here." Young Blood told me, stepping in and getting in between me and Roy.

I glared at him, then crossed my arms and leaned back. "You know something, Blood?" I asked him, taking the sack he had showed me.

He raised an eyebrow. "I think I may take up your offer. But, quick question. Is it normal for us to attack the people we hate?" I asked him.

He smiled at me, nodding, "Yeah, you getting it now, little bro. Be it N*****, Jews, Chinese, Hispanics, we take down everybody!"

I smiled at him, and suddenly I was choking him by the neck. I slammed him against the wall, causing it to crack because of his head. "I even _hear_ about another Klan getting in here to sell dope, you'll get worse than me choking you. No, brother, I'll come after you first," I whispered as he gasped. "I'll kill you slowly and painfully, but, if you got a wife, I'll get her first. You got a sister, count her dead. Mother, cousin, father? Anyone that belong to you blood line will turn up dead, and before you even got time to mourn, you'll be in my hands. Begging to die." I hissed at him, then shoved him against the wall for good measure.

" _One_ person. _Anyone_ try to sell him anything, and you and your family are dead! Get it?" I growled, then let him go as he nodded rapidly. "Get your ass out of here!" Then I kicked him out of Roy's apartment, and turned to Roy.

At first he seemed shocked, but that quickly turned to anger. "Wally! How dare you do that?" He growled, "I can fight my own battles!"

I glared at him, my eyes burning at his stupidity. "How the _fuck_ can you even try to tell me that when that bastard came in here asking for money and ready to sell you this?!" I asked him, showing him the heroin. "Roy, this shit kills!" I yelled at him.

He only rolled his eyes. "Wally, I'd never let it get that far."

"Roy, that's what everybody says in the beginning. 'Oh, no, I'll never get addicted, it's just a taste!'." I yelled in a girly voice. "Roy, what the _fuck_ is wrong with you?! Everybody starts like that! You know how many end up dead?! Most of them!"

"Wally, I know how to control myself." He growled, trying to intimidate me.

I chuckled hollowly for the; what was it; fifth? Sixth time today? "Roy, what is this? An ounce? Two maybe? Wait a month or two, you'll be buying it in _pounds_!"

"It won't get to that stage, Wally! I know when to stop!" Roy tried to tell me. But I wasn't having it.

"Roy, I'm leaving," I growled. "When I come back, you better not be buying any of this shit. Because, if you do, I'll have to take _very_ dangerous methods. Dangerous and hurtful. For you." And I was grabbing my backpack, moving to leave.

"Fine! I get it, you don't want me having fun! But at least tell me one thing before you leave! What the _hell_ was that?" He asked, standing in front of the door so I wouldn't leave.

"What was what?" I asked him, still glaring at him.

"Why did you threaten him? Like that? Since when did you go vigilante?" He asked me.

I smirked at him cockily, and looked towards the open window. Yeah, I can leave. Very well, I don't have to expose my secret. " _That_ , Roy, was the sign of a friend that cares. I don't want you doing that shit or getting in League with those mother fuckers. They kill, Roy, they hurt people that aren't white. And last I checked, your best friend's _black_." I told him.

He only rolled his eyes. "It's only until I get out of my heroin stage."

"No, Roy, it's until you die. It's until you get killed by those same people because you had sex with a Vietnamese woman. Or, if not that, because you're friends with a black man." I shook my head.

"And how the fuck do you know that, Wally? You can't make up everything you would like! This is the real world, not your imagination!"

And that got me mad. I slammed him against the wall, my forearm on his neck. "You think I don't know that?! You think I don't know the truths and the horrors of this place?! I saw a woman getting raped on my way here! A man getting beat up because he was gay! I've seen more horrors that you'll _ever_ see in your life, Roy Joy." Then I was off of him, slowly backing away from him. "You don't know shit, Roy."

And I was in the window. He was rubbing his neck, glaring at me. "You better not be on heroin when I come back. Because if you do," And I was leaving. I stopped, and turned back to him once more. "Well, you know very well that I keep my promises."

Then I was gone. I was speeding down the streets of Star, trying to find some place where I could stay. Once I figured out that I wouldn't be safe anywhere near Roy, I ran back to Ivy's and Bane's safe house.

"Well, that was quick." Ivy noted as I walked inside the room.

I sighed, passing a hand through my red hair, and tugged off my bandana. She gasped as she saw my real face, and asked, "Why are you doing this, Victor?"

I shook my head, and told her, "My name isn't Victor, Ivy. Name's Wally. Wally West."

She passed a hand through my neck, seeing the little scars there. "Did your parents do this?"

I shrugged, "Indirectly." And then I sighed. "Look, Ivy. I screwed up big time. First with my family, then the only friend that could hide me. So, I'm asking this from the bottom of my heart, can I stay here?" I asked her. "At least, until it's safe for me to go back."

She nodded, then enveloped me in a hug. She looked like she was about to cry. "Don't cry, Ivy. I'm okay."

She shook her head, "It's just... I can't believe anyone could turn down a kid like you."

I shook my own head, the tears threatening to spill. "Believe me, Ivy. You don't want to get to know the real me."

She grabbed my cheeks, and suddenly I was staring into green eyes that looked a lot like my own. "Wally, right? No matter what you do, no matter what you say, I will always feel like I owe you. You helped me in my time of need. I will be there when you need me. Get it?"

I nodded, then smirked. "Would you like to get a new identity, Ivy?"

Her mood did a complete 180 at this. Now she was hopeful. "Can you do that?"

I smiled at her, then nodded. "I learned from the best, Ivy."


	9. Chapter 8

"So, what's my new name?" Poison Ivy asked me as I typed away at my computer.

"Your new name shall be Flora Fauna!" I exclaimed, making her smack my arm. "Ow! Geez, you pack a punch, lady." I muttered, most probably getting a smile out of her. "Anyways, your new name is Johanna Jones. And your husband is Marcos Jones, who's death was caused by a terrible lawn-mowing accident."

Ivy smiled down at me, then hugged me tightly. "I'll have your birth certificate authenticated in a little while, the you're free to move wherever you want."

"Thank you so much, Wally!" She told me, making me smile.

I got up from my chair, grabbing my coat that was on the back of it, and told her, "Hey, don't sweat it. It's the least I could do for you, Ivy."

She smiled at me, then asked, "And what will you do? Are you going back home?"

I shook my head as I put on my coat, then proceeded to put on the bandana. "Think I'm going to take a page from the Batman book. Immerse myself in my work and not give a crap about others."

She glared at my answer, and I placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Ivy. I'll be extra careful, and, if anything happens, I'll come running to you first."

Ivy nodded at me, then hugged me tightly once more. "Be careful."

Then I picked up my backpack, and took off running, wanting nothing more than to complete this newest mission. Apparently, there has been a sudden spike in criminal activity all around Denver, and I had to go off on my search.

* * *

"Bruce, I really am worried for Wally." Dick told Bruce as the man typed away at the computer.

Already a whole day had passed since Wally's sudden explosion, and the fact that Roy told them that Wally was... unwell when he visited didn't really help boost their spirits.

"I know, Dick. But right now, first we must track down Poison Ivy and Bane. We find them, we find Wally."

Dick sighed, bowing his head as Bruce continued to type away at the computer, then slowly strolled towards the Zeta Beam. As soon as he reached the mountain, he had an air of resolution around him. He was going to find Wally. And he was going to find out what was going on.

* * *

"Tell me what you know!" I spit in the face of one of the lowly gang members, the squealer I had decided was perfect for my cause.

"I-I don't know nothing, man! I swear!"

I growled at him, shoving him against the wall once more, and sneered, "Very little answers. The smaller and less helpful the answer, the more fingers I break."

His face turned into complete shock and revulsion, and he tried to get out of my hold with renewed strength. Of course, that didn't help him at all, for I just smashed him against the wall once more, taking out my trusty knife. I slowly moved it towards his bound hands, his squeals and protests sounding a lot like music to my ears.

"Okay! Okay! I'll talk!" He yelled as a line of blood came from where I pressed the knife down.

I smiled evilly from behind my bandana, and said, "Good. Now, what have you been trafficking?"

"Marijuana, cocaine, you know, the usual dope." He stuttered.

I frowned at this, and asked, "To who have you been selling this?"

His eyes widened in fear as I raised my knife to his hands once more. "The dealers! Then they just sell them around, and a profit goes to our gang!"

This gang was a bothersome and pesky little thing. They were small, called themselves the Heavy Rollers, and they were; much like the Klans; an all white gang. They hated anybody that wasn't like them, and they sold drugs mixed in with some kind of poison to kill the competition or the people they thought didn't deserve to live.

"Do you sell to kids?" I growled.

He seemed shocked by this question, and when I slowly started sawing at his thumb, he screamed in pain. "Okay! Okay! Just stop cutting! I'll do anything!"

"Do you sell to kids?"

He now had tears falling down his eyes, but thankfully, there was still no snot in sight. "Yes! I didn't want them to, I have a little brother, but they say profit's profit!"

I frowned at this piece of information, then cleaned my bloodied knife. I put it back in my pocket, then smacked his face lightly with a light smile. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" I asked him, taking on a light tone.

He was surprised at my change of mood, but chuckled nervously and nodded. "Yeah, that wasn't so hard..."

And there was a gunshot, and his body slumped down to the floor. I smiled at the pool of blood that slowly formed around his head, then put the revolver back in its' holster. "Swearing is a sin."

I walked out of the alleyway, not exceedingly careful in this part of town because everybody here was hidden inside their homes. Too afraid of the Heavy Rollers to call the police. This gang was actually one of the worst burdens this part of the state has ever received. They initiated members by cutting people up, they killed anyone whom they thought had wronged them in any way, and they didn't care if they died. I just don't understand this whole 'Blood in, Blood out' shit all of the gangs talk about now-a-days.

My normal phone rang, and I wondered why I still had it on me. Eh, I could just run away as soon as anyone could even think of searching for me. And I'd smash my phone, too. That'd be really fun.

"Hello?" I asked, my voice too cheerful for someone who had just committed murder.

 _"Thank God, Wally,"_ Robin breathed, then asked, _"What the hell were you thinking?! Now the whole League's out looking for you!"_

I walked past the streets of Denver, enjoying the quiet, and took out my knife, examining the dried up blood on it. "I was thinking that I'm tired of this good for nothing team keeping me down." I shrugged.

I now couldn't give a shit. I mean, there must be a reason my parents hate me so much! And, well, if nobody in this goddamned world doesn't, why should I?

_"Wally, did you inhale anything? Did Trickster try out any new kind of toxin on you?"_

I scoffed at his hopeful tone, and said, "Look, Dickie-bird, Trickster's been staying out of trouble for the past weeks to make sure Cold doesn't get sent back to Black Gate. And believe me, if I _had_ inhaled something, I would've said a few more things to Batsy."

I swear that he gasped from the other side of the line, making me smirk. "Listen here, Roby-poo. I have to get going. You know, people to see," _kill really_ , "Places to be," _to burn to ashes, actually,_ "You know how it is."

And then I shut my phone, smiling at how intoxicating my new found freedom felt. I had nothing else shackling me down this goddamned world. It's almost as if nothing could touch me, for I was too good to even be looked at.

I looked around the streets, and frowned when I saw the exact group I was looking for. Tonight I felt daring. Usually, I would investigate a gang for weeks, study their movements and their way of life, and spend even more time making sure to break it down from the inside. But no, tonight I felt like killing all of these bastards. I mean, it wouldn't be too hard. Most of them you would find on the streets, and the ones who weren't were most probably sleeping in their main H.Q.

"Like sheep to the slaughter." I chuckled to myself as the men just kept on drinking and drinking on the hood of their cars.

And I took out my scimitar, loving the dull glow of the blade in the pale moonlight, then ran at the group. I swiftly cut them all down, their bodies falling onto the hoods of their cars before they could even notice I was there. I smiled at the bloodshed, then turned up to the moon, my hands stained with their blood, making me feel powerful.

"Mark my words, the Rollers will fall before the dawn!" I announced to myself, then ran towards their H.Q. Oh, how I couldn't wait!

* * *

"Are you sure this is where Wally's' phone was last detected?" Aqualad asked Robin, who was observing the body of the dead Heavy Roller.

It was nothing new to Robin, seeing a dead person, and this was just right up his alley. Tortured by a mad man then killed by the same man. Easy enough psychological profile.

"Yeah. Right." Robin said, getting up from the man's body and walking towards Wally last stood. "Here" He finished, then looked down to find Wally's' phone was smashed.

He bent down to pick it up, frowning at how damaged it was. Whoever did this really didn't want them to find Wally's phone.

Then there was a gasp, making him quickly stand up and face his team. Miss Martian was standing in front of a group of cars, Superboy holding her as the tears filled her eyes. Zatanna and Rocket gagged at the site, while Red Arrow and Artemis only narrowed their eyes. Robin nodded at Aqualad, then they both were walking there, only to find the chopped up bodies of more Heavy Rollers.

"This..." M'gann started, but ended up crying. No one deserved this death. Nobody at all!

"Guys, I don't think we're dealing with a vigilante anymore." Robin told them, making Zatanna nod.

"No. We're dealing with something worse."

Rocket glanced at both of them, and asked, "Which would be?"

Robin sighed, passing a hand through his hair, while debating whether he should call Batman or not. "We're dealing with a psychopath. Most probably in a full blown psychotic break."

And suddenly Batman was in his ear, _"Robin. There has been a break-in in one of Denver's warehouses. Because you went on an unauthorized mission there, head down to see what's up. The Steel Lady."_

"Got it." Robin nodded, pushing down the slight blush growing on his cheeks. God, how did he know everything?

The whole team was staring at him expectantly, then he answered, "There's been a break-in in one of the warehouses. I believe there was suspected Heavy Roller activity there, but it was never investigated."

And while the seriousness of this mission settled over them, Rocket toughened up. This vigilante had killed one of her closest friends just because he belonged to the Crips. He was going down. "So, going head to head against a psycho? Seems like another normal day for us."

And then they were off, all of them knowing that this would be their hardest mission ever. While M'gann and Conner weren't used to this kind of violence, they knew very well what psycho's were capable of. And the rest of the team knew better than to be overconfident when it came to people like this. When they arrived in the warehouse, it was like a scene from a slasher film.

Bodies and blood strewn all around the walls, making Miss Martian and Zatanna vomit. God, how could someone do this?

"Ah! If it isn't the League's rejected teens?!" A voice piped up, making all of the teens turn in it's direction.

There were whimpers and groans coming from the same place, but before they even had to move, the vigilante showed himself, pulling along a scared and bruised gangster by his hair.

"Let him go." Aqualad told him, taking out his water bearers.

The man cocked his head to the side, then he shook the man. "You mean him?" He asked innocently, but before anyone could answer, he had slashed the man's throat, getting blood all over his clothing. "Oops." He said without any feelings, letting the man drop to the floor, still breathing, dying a horrible death.

Miss Martian was horrified at this. How could? Why would? Oh, this was just too wrong!

Aqualad glared at the man, getting in a battle stance, the rest of his team following suit. The man only stayed relaxed, placing his knife back inside his pockets. "Look, I don't feel like hurting anyone today..." Then he looked around the warehouse, seeing all of the bodies. "Well, anyone else."

Robin glared at him, and said, "We have orders under the Justice League and the Government to arrest you on sight, so I suggest you come the easy way."

The man seemed to smirk from the bandana, and suddenly he was behind Robin, holding him in a headlock with his right arm, his left hand holding a knife to Robin's stomach.

"Now now, don't want to do anything stupid now, do we?" He asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

 _"M'gann, can you knock him out mentally? That seems to be our only option."_ Kaldur asked her.

 _"Yeah. I can."_ And she got ready for it. _"Rocket, get ready to form a bubble around Robin to make sure he doesn't get hurt."_

And her eyes glowed green. The Vigilante's blue ones were soon filled with pain and he gasped, letting go of Robin as he clutched his head tightly. "Get out of my head, you bitch!" He roared, but he couldn't even see her.

His whole sight had gone black. He couldn't see anything. Rocket made the bubble around Robin and quickly pulled him to the side, then encased the man in a bubble, making sure he didn't hurt anybody but himself.

"Get out! Get out! Get out!" He yelled, thrashing around and hitting the sides of the bubble.

But M'gann was still inside his head, trying to find a way to shut him down through all of the crazy. It was too much. It was too crazy. And then she found it. That clear spot of light that was completely clean, and the man slumped down, knocked out.

"Good job, M'gann!" Artemis acknowledged as M'gann's eyes went back to their normal color, but the fear was in there.

"M'gann?" Conner asked, not sure why she was reacting like this.

She swore in her native language, then dropped to her knees, staring blankly ahead. "It's Wally."


	10. Chapter 9

When I woke up, I wasn't in my room at Ivy's house, nor my room, or anywhere I usually would be at. No, I was in a padded white room, tied down to a chair, with my hands cuffed behind my back, and my feet cuffed to the chair. I looked all around, but was met with only white, and a mirror. I frowned, noticing that I wasn't anywhere I would actually like to be.

"It's nice to see that you're awake." A voice piped up, making me look to the now open door.

Robin was standing there, with Kaldur and Conner at his sides, and none of them seemed pleased. My frown deepened once I noticed the thick files Robin held in his hands.

"What's that?" I asked him, then tried to move my hands. "And why am I cuffed down?"

He glared at me, then threw the files onto the table in front of me, letting me see the photos of some Heavy Rollers, all of them cut up by something or another.

"You recognize any of that?" He asked me.

I couldn't help but frown at his question, how should I know? I couldn't remember the past night. All I remembered was leaving Ivy, then the rest was a blur. "Why would I?"

That seemed to enrage him, but Kaldur placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from yelling anything.

"Let us start off with more pleasantries, Robin." He told him, then turned to me. "Wally, are you feeling okay?"

I thought about this, then moved my head from side to side. "As good as one would when they wake up chained to a chair. Oh, with their best friend acting like crazy."

So not the right course of action. My tongue was going to get me killed. Robin walked out of the room, then returned with more files, and went to the oldest looking one, which; ironically enough; only seemed a few months old. He opened it, then threw it in front of me, letting me see the pictures of the first gangsters I called after I had my epiphany. Bloods, I believe.

"Do you recognize that, Wally?" He asked me. "Three men killed during a drive-by, all of them killed by a revolver, a bullet right in between their eyes." He told me.

I frowned at the question, then said, "I believe that was that vigilante's first kill. Am I right?"

He growled at me, then showed me the picture of Tony DiMaggio, and all of the goons that were there when I killed him. "You know him? Tony DiMaggio, leader of one of Star's biggest drug companies, and he was killed. The vigilante killed him, then talked to the Red Hood. Most probably to get his contract."

"Why are you telling me this, Rob?" I asked him, curious as to why. "I have nothing to do with the vigilante nor that other guy. Red Hood? Wasn't that the Joker?"

"Goddamn it, Wally!" He yelled, slamming his hands against the table, making me jump. "This would be a hell of a lot easier if you cooperated!"

"Aren't I cooperating? I have no idea why you're showing me this, man!" Oh, I did. I just didn't want to accept it. I couldn't have been stupid enough to give myself away. At least, not this soon.

Conner pulled Robin away, then Kaldur was with me. His gray eyes shown of pain and betrayal, which hurt me, because he was actually the only pure one on this team. "Wally, has anything happened to you as of late? Anything hurtful?" He asked me.

I looked down at my lap, and shook my head. "Nothing you have to deal with, Kaldur. They're my problems, not yours."

He frowned at this piece of information, then his hand was under my chin, making me look up. "Wally, you do know you can talk to me whenever you want, right? As the leader of this team, it is my obligation to make sure-"

And I cut him off. "Kaldur, your obligation as team leader is to make sure your team is okay enough to function. And I _am_ okay enough to function. I mean, I'm at the peak of my life when it comes to my body!"

And his frown turned grave. "But are you all right mentally?"

I glared at him, then turned away. "I believe I am, yes. Why do you ask?"

And then Robin and Conner walked in once more, my vigilante costume folded up in Robin's arms. "Because of this, Wally." He told me, glaring at me.

My eyes widened at this, and I was shocked. What the _hell_ did I do yesterday?

"Wally, I believe that everyone has their own problems and demons, but you must not take them out on others." Kaldur told me, standing up to take the pieces from Wally. "Yesterday we found you with all of this." He told me, placing each piece down separately, letting me see the bloodied pieces. These were redder than before. It actually made me feel nauseated. "Along with two revolvers, five Swiss army knives, one scimitar, three vials of poison, two Marine standard knives, and a pair of brass knuckles."

Well damn. They had almost my whole arsenal right now.

"Wally, what were you doing with all of these things?" He asked me, now leaning over the table and looking at me straight in the eyes.

And something just clicked inside of me. I don't know, but, one minute I was afraid that they would find out, and now I _wanted_ them to know everything I had done. I wanted them to know who I had killed, how I had killed them, and why.

"Well, isn't it obvious, Fish Sticks?" I asked with a smirk. "I am a world renowned prostitute and these are the things I use!" Wow, if they actually believed that, I would be worried.

And Robin was back, growling in my face. "This is not a joke, Wally! You can be charged with murder!"

And my face turned innocent, "Oh. Murder only? I thought I would get more than that."

There was a flicker of surprise from him, and then his hand seemed to want to lash out. Luckily, he stopped himself, and growled, "Wally, what have you done?"

I smirked at him, my eyes flickering predatorily, "Why, Robin, I've done what I had to."

And that seemed to do it. He overturned the table, and yelled, "Wally! You've killed people! You never have to do that!"

I glared at him, my mood doing a complete 180, and I sneered, "Is that what Daddy-Bats told you? You don't kill people at all? No matter what they've done or what they will do?" And then I glared the other two. "How about you two? Believe that ideology?"

Both boys crossed their arms, glaring at me, for they knew I already knew the answer. "Killing is never justified, Wally. No matter what you believe." Kaldur answered.

I let out a humorless chuckle, my head flying back because of the sheer stupidity in his answer, then I sneered. "So you're telling me that no matter what, you never kill? Tell that to the kids who have dirtied their hands because of stupid parents! Tell that to the government who sends out soldiers every day to do the exact thing you shun! Tell that to each and every person who has had to kill someone to survive!" I yelled, then I lowered my voice, "Once you've told them that, and _proved_ to me that there are other ways to get rid of the evil in this world... Once you do that, you can finally come in here and tell me that I don't have to do what I do." I growled.

None of them moved or spoke after my outburst, but Robin clenched his fist. "Wally, all of those situations are special and different. Those people are fighting for their lives-"

"And I'm fighting for the lives of people who can't defend themselves." I cut him off, glaring at him with such hatred that he was actually surprised.

Kaldur now stepped in front of Robin, taking off some of the pressure I had on the thirteen year old. "Wally, this is not right. You have killed hundreds with families who are innocent. You have taken away their chance to right their wrongs."

I scoffed at his words, and said, "Oh, they had time to right their wrongs, Fish Sticks. They could get out of the gang life before they started to sell to children. They could leave town as soon as the drug world became too much. _All_ of them could have gotten out. _All_ of them could have told the police what they knew and actually helped. Hell, _all_ of them could've committed suicide for all I care, and they would've righted their wrongs." I growled, my green eyes burning into his gray. "But none of them did. And now, they're all dead."

He seemed disturbed by my words, then there was a knock on the door. A dark skinned girl walked into the room, glared at me, then turned to Kaldur. "Dude, the Bat's trying to get in. Robin's hack won't hold the League at bay with him there."

Kaldur frowned at this piece of information, and at my questioning face, he said, "The League does not know what we know. At least, not yet."

I nodded, then smirked, "Well, if you'd like, I can get out of here. You know, to make sure the League doesn't find out until you want them too."

He frowned at this information, then the girl spoke up, "Look, Wally, right? I don't know you at all, but from how these guys reacted, I don't think any of them would like the League to cuff you up and take you to a prison."

And then her face clicked. "Raquel Ervin. Sister of Deshawn Ervin, huh?" I asked her, making her gasp.

"How did you?" She asked, and I was actually allowed a moment to show remorse.

"I'm sorry about your brother's death. And I'm incredibly sorry over killing Michael, but they were in the midst of killing a store owner. Normally I would let the new bloods go, but they took it too far."

She was surprised at this piece of information, but still nodded. "So, who were they trying to rob?"

"I believe the name was John. Owned a liquor store-"

"But moved away a few months back after the vigilante killed two innocent Crips in his store." She finished for me.

I smiled sadly at her, and shrugged. "And now we know how the media controls the people at home."

She nodded, then turned back to Kaldur. "What do we do?"

Kaldur looked down at me, then sighed. "Conner, Rocket, you two will go with him."

And at this they were both surprised. "Rocket, you are not as close to him as any of us, and Conner knows how to push aside his feelings to complete the mission." He explained, his voice sounding heavily burdened.

All because of me. Damn, why can't I stop hurting the people I love? Then he turned to Robin, who was still glaring at me with pure hatred. I guess we won't be able to re-build our friendship. "Get the rest of the weapons and hand them to Rocket."

"Why are we letting him go?" Robin asked, surprised at what Kaldur was doing.

"I do not know about you, but I do not want to see Wally in handcuffs, being dragged to Death Row." Kaldur growled, quickly going into leader mode to tell Robin that he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "The League will do just that, if not worse. Now get his things so that there is no evidence."

And after a second of glaring up at Kaldur, Robin left the room. Kaldur walked towards me, Conner and Rocket keeping their distance, and started untying me. "You will go with Rocket and Conner to a hotel somewhere here in Happy Harbor. You will not kill, you will not run away, and you will not hurt them." He told me sternly.

I frowned at the no kill part, and also at the no hurting part, but that was for an entirely different reason. "You actually think I can hurt any of you?" I asked him, feeling hurt at this. "Look, I only kill people that deserve it. I could never hurt innocents."

Conner's glare only steeled. "That didn't seem to be the case yesterday."

I looked at him, wondering what he meant, but Kaldur shook his head. "That will be explained later." He told me, then Robin walked in, handing Kaldur my backpack. He placed all of my things inside, then freed my hands and feet. "Now go. Please be careful." And then he walked out of the room with Robin, leaving Rocket and Conner with me.

"Let's go." Conner said, then walked towards me to grab my backpack, and started walking away.

I sighed, then trudged after him. Rocket closed the door behind her, then we were walking down the corridors of a mountain, an out of a secret passage only used for emergency escapes. "We're flying there." Rocket said, then I found myself encased in a purple bubble with Conner, and we were flying towards Happy Harbor.


	11. Chapter 10

Raquel and Conner had decided that we should stay in a little motel, close to the mountain, but not close enough that the League will check for us here. Besides, from what I had heard, Icon wasn't the really overbearing mentor, and Superman didn't care for Superboy, so these two were also the most expendables of the team. Wow, I must be messed up to think about this.

"So, Kid Flash, the killer vigilante, huh?" Raquel asked me, sitting on the bed as I sat on the floor.

Conner was out, buying food for all of us, and he had left me along with a chick that hated me. Well, she didn't quite hate me, but she just didn't trust me or like me.

"Well, yeah, why do you sound so surprised?" I asked her, looking up from the floor.

She shrugged, and said, "Well, all that I've heard about you was how nice you are, and how flirty, and how comical... You know? It's kind of surprising to know that a hero could turn bad."

And that got to me. I stood up from the floor, glaring down at her, "I did not turn bad. I have not stolen, I have not killed innocents, and I haven't done anything that most villains do in heartbeat." I growled at her.

She stood up, glaring at me, and because we were eye to eye, she actually looked a bit more deadly. "Yeah, you've just killed hundreds." She answered.

We glared at each other, the intensity in our eyes mounting by every passing millisecond, then I turned away. I walked towards the desk, resting my hands on it. "I don't have to explain myself to anyone."

She scoffed, and there was a hand on my shoulder. "It's only a matter of time before the truth comes out. I mean, the team already knows about this, and the Bat's a wiz when it comes to technology. Your secret is bound to come out sooner or later."

I shrugged her hand away, "Better later than sooner."

She sighed at this, then she asked, "Do you know what your little secret has done to the team?"

I turned around, my eyebrow cocked, wanting to know how they were taking it. "Well, as you could see, Conner went into hiding-emotions mode. He seems to be set on kill mode, actually. Artemis isn't any better off, but she at least told me that she knew something was up with you." She told me, looking me straight in the eyes, then looked out the window. "Zatanna and I, we haven't known you for that long, so we're somewhat okay. I mean, you're Kid Flash, everyone knows you for being the jokester! So, it's only understandable for the shock the whole team's in."

I growled, not wanting to hear anything else about Kid Flash. If it were up to me, Kid Flash would be dead and gone already.

"But, I'm talking 'bout the rest of the team, not only myself. Aqualad's in shock, Wally. He's actually one of the people that's taking it the hardest. He's basically immersed himself in his work, and that's been only in the last few hours since we found out."

I glared at her, and growled, "Are you trying to make me feel bad?"

She looked back at me, eyes steely, "Depends, is it working?"

I growled at her, but she continued, "M'gann has gone catatonic. She doesn't move much, she barely speaks, and when she does, she talks about dark things. Says she's seen whips, chains, she's felt too much pain."

I looked away, knowing that this time it really was my fault. I knew that it was just a matter of time before M'gann managed to break my mental shields and see the true me. The me that had seen all of those things and more.

Raquel got up from the bed, and walked towards me, standing in front of me with her hands on her hips. "Now, I'm not quite sure what she saw in your head, but it really did a number on her. Oh, and Robin? Yeah, he's the worst off in the whole team. Apparently, finding out that your best friend of your child hood is actually a cold-blooded murderer changes you."

I looked away from her, and suddenly there was a hand on my chin, making me look at her. "Now listen here, Fleet Feet, you may think that you're doing the right thing attacking all of these gangs and criminals, but really, you're only hurting yourself. Yourself and your family and friends."

I only glared at her, and when she noticed I wasn't going to say anything else, she pushed me back and walked away, "I mean, seriously! Have you no emotions in you?! The League's cracking down on the _us_ because of your personal vendetta! They don't want us to stay in the United States for fear of the vigilante deciding he doesn't want to be a vigilante anymore!" She yelled.

"That's beyond stupid. Besides, it's not my fault if the League isn't competent enough to know who the real dangers are." I told her, crossing my arms.

And she turned to me, glaring, "No, Wally, because a person that goes out at night and kills people isn't a danger, is he?"

"Why the hell are you even telling me this?! This isn't your problem!"

"It's my problem when my teammates are affected! It's my problem when my career is put in jeopardy! It's my problem when my friends drop like flies at the hand of someone once called a hero!"

Well, she's mad. I looked away, rolling my eyes, "My teammates should know how to handle these situations. They're all superficial enough to not care about anyone but themselves. It's not my fault the whole League's this stupid. They think that anybody who kills is a danger! I mean, how stupid is that! And, if you don't want your friends _dying,"_ I growled, stepping towards her and poking her forehead with my finger, "You should get them out of the life."

She glared at me, "You stupid idiot! Can't you see when someone's trying to help you?!" She yelled.

"I don't need any help! And I don't want it either!"

"How can you not want what you need, Wally? Because you need help!"

I sighed in exasperation, then turned away, my head in my hands. "Why can't you just stop?! I don't need anything from fake people!"

"So I'm fake?" She asked, pressing even more, for she knew I was close to breaking. "I didn't grow up in the hood and I didn't fight tooth and nail for the place I'm in today?"

"No! It's not you! It's the rest! They're the fake people!" I yelled, turning to face her, close to crying.

God, why must she push so much? I don't want to admit everything, yet here I am, close to telling her everything. What is this? How can I go from defensive to complete willing in a span of mere seconds.

"And how are they fake? Does Robin somehow enhance his acrobatic skills with drugs?"

"It's not that kind of fake!" I yelled, stopping her rant. "They all lie! They lie about everything! Robin lies about his life and his origins!" And here, I finally broke, falling to my knees. "He doesn't care about anyone other than himself and the Bat, and his feelings are fake!"

Raquel only stared in surprise at my form, now the tears falling freely. "Conner! Oh, God, Conner! He's too naïve! Tell him something, say it with enough conviction, and he'll believe you! And, God, he's so easy to manipulate! I mean, look how M'gann controls him!"

Raquel shook her head, most probably not wanting to hear this. Not now. Not bad things about her supposedly perfect teammates. "Wally, I'm sorry, you can stop."

But I shook my head, "No! I'm saying this, and someone's going to listen to me! Cause, god damnit, I'm tired of people telling me I'm wrong! Now, Zatanna, she's too innocent! Too fresh! She isn't prepared for this world, she isn't ready for what's bound to happen to any of us! She just isn't!"

"Wally, please, stop." She pleaded, but I wouldn't.

"M'gann thinks she can control anybody! She think that with just one mind trick she has them wrapped around her fingers, and she believes it's good! That's the worst part! She thinks there's nothing wrong with controlling others!" I yelled, the tears streaming down loosely. "And if she can't, she'll erase the person's memory! She tried to do it to me! She tried to get in my head, but when I told her to stop, she tried to erase my memory! She's sick, Raquel, sick! Aqualad, he might be the only person on this whole team that hasn't done anything against me! But still, he'd give up his life for any of this fake people, and that's wrong!"

"Please stop." She whispered, now back against the wall, eyes squeezed shut with her hands on her ears.

"God, Artemis, she's the worst of the whole team. She'll lie, cheat, steal, do anything to complete her mission! Her mission? Get information on the team to sell to the Shadows! She doesn't care about what happens to any of us as long as she gets paid! And I'm tired of it!"

"Stop!" She finally yelled, now on her knees, tears also falling.

"No! You wanted me to talk! You wanted me to tell you the truth, and here it is!" I yelled at her. "This is the truth of my fake Team! They don't care about anyone other than themselves, and they'll destroy anyone who gets in their way. Be it you, me, their mentors..." I whispered, my steam finally leaving me. "They'll do anything..."

And then Conner ran into the room, cuts and bruises all over his body, and he looked wildly from me to Raquel. "What did you do?!" He growled, picking me up from the front of my shirt.

I was still crying, which surprised him, and he asked, "Why are you two crying? What happened?"

And suddenly a plant smashed into him, making Conner fly to the other side of the room and letting me fall down onto the floor. To my utter surprise, Ivy and Bane walked into the room, along with the Red Hood, but... that couldn't be right. He was jailed in the Watchtower.

"God, Wally, what happened?" Red Hood asked, running towards me and kneeling down.

I didn't move away from his touch... It didn't burn... Not anymore.

"What did you do to him!?" Ivy yelled, glaring at Conner and Raquel.

"I..." I gasped out, not wanting these two getting hurt. "Ivy... I want to..."

She was suddenly beside me, stroking my hair and shushing me. "Don't worry, my little seedling, we'll be leaving now." She told me in such a soothing voice that I found myself slowly falling asleep.

"What did they do to him?" I heard her ask as I was pulled into a strong chest, then felt myself being carried away.

"Don't know, Ivy. But this kid never cries. Whatever they did wasn't pretty." I heard Jason answer, then felt a big hand on my cheek.

"Pobre muchacho," Bane grunted. "You sure I can't pummel the kid a bit more?"

"No..." I murmured, most probably getting their attention. "Friends..."

"They're his friends, Bane." Jason told him.

I heard a grunt, then Bane said, "With friends like those, who needs enemies?"

"Apparently Wally does." Jason answered as there was a window crashing.

"Get him out of here!" Ivy yelled. "Me and Bane will deal with the Super Idiots!"

And suddenly, Jason was running out of the room, and I was hearing grunts of pain. "Ivy..." I murmured, and Jason shushed me.

"Don't worry about her, kid. She can take care of those Justice Dolts." Jason grunted, then I heard a door opening and I was placed on a comfy seat. "We'll have to go fast, kid. So hold on to whatever you can." He told me, then the door closed.

And we were off, driving down the streets at an insane speed.


	12. Chapter 11

_"I hate you! Get the fuck away from me!" I yelled, throwing anything I could at the Flash._

_The League had found Ivy's hide out. They had taken out Ivy and Bane, and now me and Jason were the only ones still kicking, and I couldn't find him. Now Flash was trying to coax me into going with him, coax me into giving everything up, coax me to lose myself... But I couldn't. I wouldn't. I was not going with them. I couldn't live with the lies and the fakeness of everything. I just couldn't!_

_"Wally, please, let me help. I know this is a hard time in your life, so please. I'm begging here, Wally. Let me help."_

_I backed against the wall, cursing my luck because I didn't have any of my weapons with me and I just ran out of things to throw at my uncle. "Stay back! I don't want what I don't need!"_

_And this seemed to get him angry. "Wally, you've been murdering people every day! You've pushed everybody away! You need help!"_

_I glared at him, baring my teeth. "I don't need anything! Well, actually, I need you to leave!"_

_He seemed to get angrier at this, and as he tried to rush me, I ran out of the way. As I crashed into the coffee-table; because right now I'm at my lowest low; he seemed surprised. "What, you thought you could catch me with that overused trick? Newsflash, Uncle B, I'm not that scared ten year old anymore."_

_And then there was a sharp jolt of electricity in my back. I yelped in pain, and my sight started to go black._

_"How did this happen?" I heard Flash ask, but his voice was slurry._

_"Don't blame yourself, Barry. We're getting to the bottom of this." And then I was out._

* * *

"Why did you let the vigilante get away?" Batman growled at the teens standing in front of him, all of them being defiant and refusing to speak.

After he had finally managed to get inside the mountain, he found the team lounging around, trying to act normal, but certain things were off. M'gann wasn't cooking anything, and she wasn't even trying to. Kaldur wasn't reading a book, instead he was deep in thought. Superboy and Rocket were nowhere to be found, Robin was glaring at nothing in particular, and Artemis was happy. The absence of the two members and Artemis' happiness were the things that had tipped the Bat off.

Instead of asking the team what happened, he instead went to the camera room, and tried to hack in. Only for Robin's own hack to stop him. And after he had threatened each teen, Zatanna had finally broken and told him about how they had found the vigilante, brought him to the cave, then helped him leave with Rocket and Superboy accompanying him.

Then Superman and Flash arrived, Superboy and Rocket following with them, and the adults had told Batman that the vigilante had gotten away along with Red Hood, Poison Ivy, and Bane. After checking both teens for injuries, he asked them if they knew anything else.

"I'm not saying anything." Rocket growled at him, then ran towards Kaldur and sat beside him.

Batman glared after her, then turned to Superboy, who only glared back. Sometimes it really bothered Batman that these kids were to close. It only meant that they were more dangerous when it came to defying the League.

"Aqualad, as your _boss_ ," Batman growled, glaring at each teen. "I command you to tell me everything."

Aqualad looked at each of his teammates, and, because they all nodded, finally spoke, "Batman, we found that the vigilante is not out to cause harm to either the League, or our team, so I believe it is safe to say he is not that big a threat."

Batman wanted to slap the boy right then and there. This wasn't a matter of which threat is bigger! It's a matter of a man killing gangsters off as if they were flies! It's a matter of protecting innocents from a man that is bound to have a psychotic episode!

"Okay, then, why did you help him leave?" Superman asked, quickly stepping in before Batman attacked the teen.

This time Kaldur stayed quiet, letting Rocket answer for him. "He's not who you think, guys. He isn't out to hurt anyone. We understand this, so we decided it would be in everyone's best interest to let him go."

Batman growled in frustration at her answer, but Superman stopped him before he could say anything. "Kids, he is a dangerous man. He has killed hundreds, maybe more, and he _will_ kill even more."

Now Zatanna stood up. "Well, I for one don't see anything wrong with what he's doing. He's cleaning up the streets, he doesn't interfere with our work, and he's even nice enough to not kill us when he has the chance."

After much thinking, Zatanna had come up with this answer. She had known Wally for only a few weeks now, but she respected him. He would risk his life every day to save either a stranger or a teammate, and he didn't care if he ended up losing his own life in the process. He cared more about the team than he seemed to care about himself, and even if that could've been fake, Zatanna still felt grateful to him. He accepted her so easily into the team that she just couldn't be mad at him. Sure, this path was not one she would take, but she knew that if someone _had_ to take it, she was happy it was Wally and not someone else.

Batman glared at her, while Superman gapped. "Zatanna, nobody is allowed to take away the life of someone else. It is not right, nor is it their mission." Batman growled.

Now Conner was standing beside her, arms crossed and scowling, "Well, even if it isn't right, I'm thankful it's him who's doing it, and not someone who wouldn't hesitate to attack the League if he had the chance."

And right then Batman could tell that something extremely drastic had changed in the team. Conner wasn't comforting M'gann, but supporting Zatanna. Artemis was too happy, Robin was brooding, and Kaldur seemed as if he were ready to collapse.

"What did you find out about him?" Batman asked the kids, making Robin glare at him.

"Nothing you should worry about, B. Now drop it." Robin growled.

Batman was taken aback by Robin's comment, but before he could say anything, his comm. link beeped. "Batman here."

_"Bats, Red Hood fell for the bait. We know have a lock in on the vigilante's where-a-bouts."_

* * *

The voices in my head, they consult me... They understand me... They don't see only the darkness in me, they also see the good I have. The potential in me. They don't want me locked inside this damn room with my hands cuffed behind my back, no... They want me to get revenge. They want me to crush Batman's skull in. They want me to burn the Watchtower. They want me to impale Superman with kryptonite. They want me to kill Wonder Woman.

I had ignored these voices in the beginning of my crusade. I had told myself they would only get me in trouble. But right now, when the Justice League had me tied down in a small ass room, I couldn't help but hear them. I couldn't help but call out to them. Tell them to tell me what to do.

"Are you going to talk, Wally?" Black Canary asked as she walked into the room.

I sat up on the floor, analyzing her slowly. She was tired, that anyone could tell, but she also seemed content. Most probably because she wouldn't have to worry about the flirty speedster anymore. Oh, how right she was. She wouldn't mess with a 'flirty' speedster anymore. No, she'd have to face a new Wally. The real Wally. The one that sees these so called heroes being lowered into the ground. The one that smiles at these thoughts.

"Well, should I, toots?" I asked her, smirking evilly. "Or would you much rather do something else with your mouth?" I asked her, making her cringe. Well, maybe she would have to deal with the old me a little.

"Wally, you are not in the right place to be flirting with me right now." She told me, breathing in and out deeply, most probably to calm down.

"And why's that, Dinah?" I asked her, using an innocent tone. "Can I not speak my mind in therapy?"

She glared at me, which made the inner-me do a happy dance. So easy to get under her skin.

"Wally, do you know what you have done?" She asked me, and I knew she wanted to punch me right now, but she didn't dare take one step towards me. Smart woman.

"Well, I've done a lot of things in my fifteen years. I've walked, talked, I've walked _and_ talked, I've ran, I've run away from many people, I've ran _towards_ many others, I've slept, eaten, slept some more..." I said, looking away, then looked up at her with a smile. "You're going to have to be a little more specific, toots."

She growled at her newest nickname, but she quickly breathed in and out to calm down. "Wally, I am not here to accuse you. I am here to talk to you."

I nodded at this, then moved my head, signaling for her to walk towards me. "Come on, BC. It's hard to talk to you when you're so far away."

She sighed and walked towards me, and helped me up. I smiled up at her, "Thank you." I told her, then looked around the room once more. "You know, it's kind of funny."

And here is when she's going to fall for my trick. She's going to think I really will talk, and that's going to be her downfall. "What is funny, Wally?" She asked me.

I turned back to her, frowning slightly. "This." I said, moving my shoulders as if to emphasize this. "All of this. I mean, one day you're at the top of the world, you're loved by millions and told you're the best, then the next you're stuck in the gutters, with your hands tied behind your back, being treated like trash."

She seemed to get hit by these words, and asked, "And why do you say that?"

But I turned away once more, moving to look at myself in the mirror, which I knew was a one way window. "Society has these rules that you can never break. You can't love somebody from the same sex. You can't be different from everybody else. You can't speak out against the government. You can't _kill_." I told her, then turned around, still frowning. "And when these rules are broken, everybody scatters like scared insects. Or, they attack you for the rule you've broken."

She didn't like what I was saying. "I mean, is it wrong for anybody to fall in love? Is it wrong to be yourself? Is it wrong to believe in certain things? Is it wrong to work for a cause?" I asked her, turning to her.

"Wally, three of those four rules are flexible." She started, making me laugh hollowly.

"Seriously, Canary? You're trying to tell _me_ this?" I asked her, then quickly got serious. "A homosexual gets beaten up every day, yet society looks away, deciding that it's okay as long as we ignore it. You get labeled each _second_ by the clothes you wear. People get killed everyday because they fight for freedom." I growled at her, walking towards her until we were only a few inches apart, me glaring at her while she looked scared. "And you _dare_ tell me that rules are flexible?"

She now seemed like she wanted to get out of here. "Wally, you're not yourself," She told me, trying to take a step to the right, which I quickly blocked.

"Oh, how wrong you are, _Pretty Bird_ ," I sneered, "I've never been more of myself."

And I quickly jumped up and kicked her head, making her fall to the floor. I jumped once more, moving my arms under my legs, and they ended up being cuffed in front of my chest. I crouched to her side, and grabbed her hair. "What, told the boys you could handle me?" I sneered at her. "Thought you could really take on a boy who has murdered hundreds?" I asked her, then kicked her skull once more.

I got up, and started working on the cuffs. "You wanted to know what I think?" I asked her, looking down at her bleeding head. "Well, I'll tell you." I sneered, then grabbed her hair once more and dragged her up, and smashed her head against the window. "I have voices in my head. They actually know what I'm thinking, they council me, they understand me." I whispered in her hair, and smiled at the blood pouring from her wound.

"Wally, please..." She whispered, but I smashed her head against the window once more, causing a crack.

"They tell me things that I will do, they show me things I'll do to you," I whispered in her ear, causing her to shiver in disgust. "I also taste and hear things, Dinah."

And then I threw her to the other side of the room. "I hear voices crying and screaming, screaming for the help that will never come. I hear the millions of innocents who have died unfair deaths. I hear everything they went through, and I hear their screams." I growled at her, stalking towards her almost limp body. "I taste the drying blood of those men, women, children. I taste their last tears. I taste their death."

Then I crouched next to her face, and grabbed her hair once more. "I also see something..." I whispered, looking for a good enough word. "I see something that is pleasurable and just helps me further my mission."

"You sick bastard," She whispered, making me chuckle.

"I see heroes dying." I whispered in her ear, then punched her head once more, causing her to go limp. "I see the Justice League falling. And the voices tell me what I'll do to all of them."


	13. Chapter 12

It's amazing, really, what one can see in just a few minutes. I mean, Black Canary bruised and beaten on the floor was something, but the fact that the Watchtower was almost barren was just awesome! And the fact that the only people there were Guy and Plastic Man just seemed to be the cherry on top. Plastic Man was easy to subdue, just speed around him and cut off his air and he's done. He was a lightweight when it came to asphyxiation, and it just helped me even more.

Guy, on the other hand, was more fun. He had attacked me on sight, and actually managed to fight me in a way that made me have to try. He came on strong with his constructs, but my agility and insanity quickly beat him. In the end, I was standing over his body, with him writhing in pain, with a makeshift knife in my hands. I kneeled next to him, grabbed him by the hair, and whispered into his ear,

"We can do this the nice way, where I let you live, or the hard way, where I let you live... but with a few complications." I smiled evilly at how his face turned into one of pure horror.

"Look, Wally," He started, but I just slammed my foot into his head.

He rolled a little to the side, but eventually stopped, unconscious. I smiled at my handiwork, then whistled as I stepped towards the main computers. The one thing I don't regret from spending so much time with the Bat is the fact that I know how to hack things. I mean, with all the hacking the bird does, it was just a matter of time before I picked up on it, and perfected it. And once I had finished hacking into the Watchtower, disabling all security and the Zeta Beams, I decided to send a message to all my fans.

You see, the League had somehow seized control of all televisions, computers, phones, anything with internet, and every time they needed to contact the whole world, they now had the was to do so. Unfortunately for them, they were believed me to not be a threat, and now I was able to use it against them. Placing the bandana on my face once more, and shrugging my trench coat on, along with my hat, I was ready to speak.

Turning on the screen, and cutting into any and all electronically devices, I chuckled evilly. "Hello, inhabitants of this Earth," I started, making sure to look directly at the camera. "I believe that your government, especially the one in the U.S. of A, has lied to you. You see, I'm not a villain. I'm not a hero either, but there is one thing I am _right now._ And that is pissed off."

"Now, I know most of you are mad at the fact that I cut into your TV time, but this is the only way I know for sure that I will be heard." I continued, "Now, you see, the Justice League and the world leaders have decided that I am a danger to everyone in my path, and that I am nothing more than a petty criminal. You see, that's where we have _very_ different opinions. I am not a criminal." I sneered, then took out my knife, just to add to the tension I know was building. "I am a vigilante. I kill those who hurt innocents. And I don't give a _fuck_ about what you think."

And there was suddenly a hit to my back. I turned around, to find Guy staring at me with wide eyes, making me smile. "Take this man as an example." I said, grabbing Guy in a headlock. "A hero, am I right? He and his posse decided I was too dangerous, so they locked me up here. I was never going to do anything to the Justice League. I was just going to leave them alone, let them be, but..." and I grabbed Guy's chin harshly. "They forced my hand." And my knife found itself in his shoulder.

He screamed in agony, making me smile. I threw him at the floor, then turned back to the screen. "You may see this as me issuing a war on the League, but that isn't it. That's me issuing a surrender. Stop hunting me down. Stop trying to find me. Stop doing whatever you're doing," And then I picked Guy up once more by the hair. "Or something worse than this may happen to you. This may happen to the League, the crooked cops, the congressmen, each and every single person that tries to get me." I growled, then threw Guy back on the floor. "And, death is assured to whoever believes gang affiliation is right for them."

"Because you see, those murders, those homicides, those torture scenes..." I smiled evilly at the camera, remembering everything. "That will seem like mercy compared to what I will do now. And, for all of those that feel that I am wrong, and it's an injustice what I'm to do, you have only one group to blame. And that group is the Justice League. Also, I'm tired of being called a common vigilante. My name's Salvator." I smirked, knowing full well why I loved this name. "Savior." And I cut the feed off.

I smiled at Guy's unconscious body, then pulled my knife out and stepped over him, walking towards the Zeta Beams. I hacked into them once more so they were operational, then stepped through them to go to Star City. I ran straight to Roy's apartment, and climbed up the fire escape to his window, and found him staring at the TV. I smiled as I stepped through, then cleared my throat.

"Isn't that something?" I asked him, crossing my arms as he jumped up.

He seemed surprised to see me, but that quickly faded into rage. "Who do you think you are?" He growled at me, slowly moving to the right, which made me move to the left.

"What? Now we're circling one another? I feel like we've taken a few steps back, Roy Joy." I told him, smiling at his composure.

It was slowly slipping. I looked down at his arm, and lo and behold, there were more holes in the veins. I frowned at him, but suddenly found him attacking me. I threw him back, causing him to crash against the wall. "Back of the line, Ginger Snap!" I chuckled at my own joke, causing him to groan in pain.

I sped towards Roy, grabbed him by the hair, and hissed in his ear, "Did I not tell you to stop this shit?" I then looked around, and sped all around the apartment to find his stash. It was in his room, under all the school books and notebooks. Smart man, no one would think of heroin being placed in between school things.

I sped back towards him, to find him trying to get up. I kicked his stomach once, making him fall flat on his face. I grabbed his hair once more, and pulled him up so he was seeing me. "I told you once to get off of this. I told the man that if anyone gave to you, he'd be dead. And I _know_ he hasn't been giving you anything, along with the rest of the Klan, so where'd you get it from?"

He glared at me, then seemed to process what I was saying. "Wait... Wally?"

I smiled at him, then patted his head. "At least you haven't lost too many brain cells." I joked, causing him to wonder what was going on. "Now, who the fuck gave this to you?" I got serious, which just confused him even more.

"Wally, are you okay?" He asked me, trying to pry my fingers from his hair. "This isn't you."

I scoffed at him, then threw him once more against the wall. "I once heard, uh... what was it?" I asked myself, snapping my fingers to think of the prhase. "Right! It's a shameful thing, a careless man could wind up dead!" And then I glared down at him struggling to get up. "You're that careless man right now, Roy."

"Fuck off, Wallace." He spit out, making me laugh.

"Not likely, Roy. Now, let's do this the easy way, tell me who gave you this, and I won't cause you to go into a comma."

He was shocked at my words, but before he could answer me, his phone rang. I picked it up from the coffee table, and answered, "Hello?"

 _"Roy, right?"_ The other person asked, and I looked back at Roy, with a raised eyebrow.

"This is he." I answered, then kicked Roy's head when he tried to lunge at me.

_"Just got the latest shipment. Meet you at the docks at ten?"_

And my rage almost burst forth right then. I quickly calmed down, and said, with a sickly-sweet smile as I looked at Roy, "See you there." And I clicked the phone off. "You just have no shame, do you?"

* * *

_As I walked away from the docks, I couldn't help but wonder what was happening. I awoke with a dead body in front of me, and a bloodied knife in my hands. Seriously, not that new, and I knew this man from before, a small time drug dealer, so I wasn't so worried over his death. I mean, nobody would miss him. Well, except for the suckers that bought his heroin. Those people were just asking to die, for he laced the heroin with other drugs._

_And suddenly someone fell on top of me, kicking my head in the process. As I rolled on the floor, I wondered what was going on, but quickly got up as I saw another foot flying my way. Rolling out of the way of the limb, I quickly grabbed it as it passed, then sent the person crashing against the warehouse behind me._

_I breathed heavily at the attack, for I wasn't at my best right now, and slowly crept forward to see who had attacked me. And who I saw, made my blood boil._

_"What the hell, Robin?" I asked him, getting a glare as my answer._

_"You know very well what,_ Salvator. _" He hissed, managing to confuse me even more._

_"What are you talking about, Rob? Sides, my name's Wally, not Salvator."_

_"Are you trying to play tricks on me now, Wally?!" He suddenly yelled, and before I could react, his fist met my jaw._

_I staggered backwards, holding the spot he hit, and glared at the damn bird. "What the hell was that for?! Last thing I did to you was tell you the truth, Rob!"_

_He shook his head wildly, then swung at me once more. I dodged out of the way, and our dangerous dance started. "The League caught you! They brought you to the Watchtower, and there," He yelled, swinging wildly at me. "You almost killed Black Canary, Plastic Man, and Guy Gardner!"_

_This caught me completely by surprise, but I managed to move away from a kick at the last minute. "I did no such thing!" I yelled, then heard something close to my back._

_I jumped and did a backflip, landing behind Artemis, who was staring at me as if I were a weird specimen. "What the hell is this?!" I yelled, not understanding why two of my teammates were attacking me._

_And Artemis let a few arrows fly, right when Robin threw a couple of birdarangs at me. I managed to get out of the way of each of them, but cursed my luck. I couldn't attack them with any of my own weapons, and there was nothing in the docks I could use as a weapon at the moment._

_"Come on, Wally. Weren't you the big bad that took care of Black Canary?" Artemis taunted, but I just didn't understand._

_I didn't do anything to her. I can't remember anything that they're telling me._

_"You know what, Wally?" Robin yelled, making me look at him, still not sure what was going on. "You're parents were right about one thing. You're worthless."_

_And that's what it took. That's what made me snap. I went from clueless to pissed off, and before anyone could blink an eye, I had Robin against a wall, a knife through his stomach. "Is that worthless?" I hissed at him, but he didn't answer, for he was choking and gasping._

_"Robin!" Artemis yelled, and let more arrows loose at me, which I only caught._

_Then I had her against a wall, the arrows pining her there through her clothing. "You two really are something else." I hissed in her ear. "But you especially. Thought I wouldn't catch on?" I asked her, making her eyes grow wide. "Thought that you were covering your tracks perfectly? Well, maybe for someone new to the game. But I know. And if you want your secret to stay secret, you'll stop hunting me down."_

_And, just for my fun, I stabbed her stomach once with my knife, causing her to scream in agony. "You two..." I started, grabbing my knife once more and sliding it out of her body. "Sure are something." I told them, walking to stand in between both of them._

_I smiled at Robin, who was hunched over, and said, "You two sure can wear your cowardice well. Ambushing me and hoping that pointy objects would hurt me." I said, then sped towards him and pulled my knife out._

_"You're going to hell, Wally." He whispered, making me smile._

_"Oh, so true, Dickie-bird." I whispered in his ear, "But_ I _will see_ you _riding straight. To. Hell." I emphasized, then kicked his head, knocking him out._

_"You monster! You bastard!" Artemis started to yell, but I just tuned her out as I looked through Robin's utility belt to find his Bat communicator._

_"Hey, Batsy," I said in a sing-song voice. "You best come to find your sidekick unless you want him dead."_

_And then I threw the contraption on the floor, flipped Artemis off with my finger, then took off running straight to Ivy's place. I had to find out what was going on._


	14. Chapter 13

Nobody was in the warehouse where I last saw Ivy. There were signs of struggle, and there were dozens of broken objects, but there wasn't a single soul there. Which, wasn't good at all. I went all around the house, trying to find anybody, but there was nobody. I cursed my luck, then grabbed my backpack and went to run outside, only for an arrow to be pointed directly at my face.

The man who was holding his arrow back was glaring at me, his blonde hair plastered to his face with sweat. His green costume seemed stained with red, and he looked like he had just gone through hell.

"Green Arrow, what happened to you?" I asked him, my hands up in defense as he eyed him wearily.

"Got any weapons on you, kid?" He asked me, making me shake my head rapidly. I did, but I wouldn't use them against him. If there was one person in this world that I could never hurt, that would be Oliver Queen. And, well, also Billy Batson. They had never done me wrong.

"Thinking of attacking me?"

"Not at all, GA." I answered, and suddenly I found my arms full of exhausted archer.

He let his bow and arrow fall to the floor, and just seemed to fall unconscious. "Arrow? Are you okay?" I asked, not daring to move because I didn't know what his injuries were.

"Yeah. I'm okay." He slurred, and I frowned.

"What are your injuries?" I asked him, with his head lolling from side to side.

"Most probably a concussion," He mumbled, "Busted up shoulder and ankle, hit my ribs a couple of times, and don't know what else." He slurred.

I frowned at his injuries, then slowly dragged him towards the couch closest to me. I placed him down on it, and looked around the house. Ivy must've kept a First-Aid Kit somewhere around her. I decided on the kitchen, and up on the cabinet was where I found it. I ran back towards Green Arrow, and started cleaning his wounds. After I bandaged his side, ankle, and shoulder, I threw all of the bloodied things in the trash can.

I walked towards him, and sat on the floor, just watching the shallow rise and fall of his chest.

"Who did this to you, GA?" I asked quietly, not sure if I wanted to wake him up.

"I..." He whispered, "Don't know."

I sighed, and looked down at my hands. It seems that no matter what I do, at the end of the day, my hands would always be stained with the blood of another person.

"Where's the rest of the League?" I asked him.

He seemed to shake his head, and answered with the same thing. He didn't know. This just got me angry. One of the things Flash first taught me about the League was that they never turned their back on their teammates. Yet, here was Green Arrow, barely alive, and no one seemed to care about where he was.

"What were you doing here, Ollie?" I asked him, getting up from the floor and running to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"Bats... he told us you were here..." He slurred, then fell into a fit of coughing, which made me run towards him and give him my water. "Thanks." He told me, handing me the cup. "Said we had to find you."

"But I was in the Watchtower. Besides, there's no one else here." I told him, sitting down in front of him once more.

"Came here with..." He mumbled, then groaned as he pressed his palm into his head.

"Don't worry 'bout it, Ollie. Just rest up. I won't let anyone hurt you know." I told him, and suddenly the room was filled with soft snores.

I smiled softly at him, then looked towards the door, which opened and in came a man, about twenty or thirty years old. He had short red hair, a scraggly red beard, with dull green eyes, and he had scars littering his whole body. He looked down at me and Ollie, then walked towards me and sat down, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Took quite a beating, didn't he?" He asked me, face showing that he was distressed by Ollie's appearance.

"Yeah. But I don't know what happened to him."

The man nodded, then passed a hand through Ollie's hair. "You got any idea who did this?"

I shook my head, then passed a hand through my own hair. The events of this day were really getting to me. "All I know is that when I got here, he was in a worse condition than this, and he wasn't ready to trust anyone that walked through the door."

The man nodded, then turned to me, his green eyes showing his anger. "I think I know who did this."

My eyebrows shot up, and I asked, "Who do you think?"

He sighed, and started stroking his red beard. "Who has been on your ass this whole time? Who will do anything to catch you?" He asked me, looking down at me. "Who in this world has been against you for as long as you remember?"

I sighed at this, and said, "Um, let me see, my parents, Robin, that weird ass clown Ronald McDonald, my uncle, my aunt, Batman..." And I didn't like the list. "Let's just say most of the people I've met."

The man nodded, then looked back at Ollie. He didn't say anything else, but I connected the dots. "Wait, you think the League did this to one of their own?"

He was smirking sadly, and nodded. "We all know the Bat will do anything to complete his mission. Because Green Arrow doesn't have any powers, the whole League think he's the disposable link."

I frowned at this information, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. "I see where you're coming from."

He nodded, then turned to me, now very serious. "Wallace, do you regret what you have done?"

I stared at him in surprise, and asked, "What do you mean? I've done a lot of things."

He sighed, then smacked me upside the head. "I mean do you regret what you've done as a vigilante?"

I hummed in thought, then said, "No. I don't. This world needs someone that can cross the line everybody thinks still exists."

The man chuckled at my answer, and said, "Seriously, everyone should know by now that that line doesn't exist. Well, not anymore."

I nodded at him, then turned back to Ollie. "I can't believe someone actually did _this_ to Ollie."

The man sighed, and placed a hand on my shoulder once more. "Ever heard that quote? What was it? Everything bad happens to the good people, or some shit like that? Well, Wally, that's exactly what happened with Ollie."

I nodded at him, then grabbed Ollie's hand. The man got up, and left the room, leaving me alone with Ollie. "God, Ollie... If I had known this would happen to you because of my newest hobby... I never would have started."

I sighed, then looked out the closest window. "It's funny, really, all that I've done. What's happening now... It seems like I've suddenly found myself in a bad Mexican Soap Opera." I chuckled at my own joke, then let my hand drop Ollie's. "I didn't think it would ever get this far. To tell you the truth, I thought I would get killed in the first few months, and that didn't bother me. That thought didn't bother me at all... It still doesn't."

I don't know what I'm to do now. The whole League's after me. Every government in this world wants me. It just seems that I've dug my grave, and now I'm slowly being pushed to fall inside. I know I screwed up royally by attacking Robin and Artemis, but... They pushed me... But now _I_ was going to pay the price, while they recovered in their own posh and rich homes. I sighed, and looked up to the ceiling.

"God, if you really are there, give me a sign? What do I do?" I asked, but scoffed when nothing happened. "Knew that there's nobody up there."

I got up from the floor, then looked down at Ollie once more. Life really does suck at times. I didn't have anybody with me now. Ivy and Bane were gone, most probably in Arkham by now. Jason was nowhere to be found. My parents are jackasses that I'll never go back to, my uncle and aunt would never accept me now, and my friends most probably hate me. It's actually amazing, how one can fall so fast.

I grabbed my backpack, placed it on my shoulder, then grabbed Ollie's communicator. "Hey, Arrow's in Ivy's place. He's pretty beat up." I told whoever was listening, then ran towards the kitchen to grab pen and paper. Once I found it, I wrote Ollie a little note, and placed it in his arrows. I had to make sure no one but him got to it, and that was the best way.

I sighed, and ran towards L.A, where I hoped I still had one person that I could trust. When I got to the deserted plains, I smiled as I saw the cowboy moving his horses from the stable to the fence where he could run each of them.

"What's up, Greg?" I asked him, walking towards him, a sad smile clear on my features.

The man turned towards me, and frowned as he saw me coming. "Sorry, kid, don't know who yuh are." He told me, his Western accent thick.

I chuckled at him, then showed him my backpack. His eyes widened in surprise at seeing it, then looked from side to side, making sure no one else was there, and said, "What's the most hated vigilante doin' here, visitin' lil' old me?"

I smiled at him, letting out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. He wasn't angry. Or, at least, he wasn't trying to kill me right now. "God, Greg, I screwed up big time."

His smile dropped, then nodded. "Let me get the 'stangs back into the stable, then yuh'll tell me all 'bout it. That okay?" He asked me, making me smile wider.

"I'll help."

And once the mustangs had been placed inside the stables, Greg walked me towards his house and offered me food. I had known Greg for about a year now, and he was the real Vigilante. He was the cowboy who used guns to kill people, and was barely seen now-a-days. He was my teacher, and he was more a father than anything else to me right this moment.

We sat down in his living room, and we just stayed quiet as I ate. After I had finished eating what he gave me, Greg sighed. "Yuh sure know how ta get in trouble, don't ya, kid?"

He didn't know my real name. I had refused to give it to him before because I didn't trust him. Now, though, he was the only person I _could_ trust. "My name's Wally, Greg. And yes, I do seem to know exactly what to do to get attention."

He nodded at me, then looked out his window. "Guess yuh'd like ta stay the night." He noted, and got up slowly.

"No. You don't have to worry about that, Greg." I told him, then his phone rang.

"Scuse me," He said, then went to answer. He frowned at whatever was said, then gave me the phone. "It's for yuh."

I looked at it wearily, then grabbed it. "Hello?"

 _"Well, well, well, Wally. Guess your plan about running away isn't working, is it?"_ Robin's cocky voice came from the other line, making me cringe. It was extremely grating.

"What do you want, _Dick_?" I sneered.

_"Meet me at Gotham Docks tonight if you don't want the whole world knowing who the real Vigilante is."_

I rolled my eyes, and leaned back against the seat. "I don't care what happens to me, Roby-poo. Someone once told me I have self-destructive behavior, I can't help but agree."

And there was a cold chuckle from the other line. _"I'm not talking about you, Wally. I'm talking about Gregory Saunders, whose career is just beginning to blast off."_

I growled at this, and got up from my seat. "Robin, I swear if you so much as _think_ to reveal his identity, I'll make sure you have the worst death possible."

 _"Now, maybe we can come to an arrangement. Meet me at the Gotham Docks, and we may be able to talk this out."_ Then he was gone.

I cursed at him, then turned to Greg. "Guess I have to leave." I told him, handing him back his phone.

"Where are yuh goin', Wally?" He asked me, grabbing it and placing it on the kitchen counter.

"I'm going to Gotham. Need to take care of something." I answered, and he quickly connected the dots.

"Ah'm going with yuh."

I swiftly turned around, "No way, Greg. You're not going to get dragged into this."

He smirked at me, and said, "Ah've already been dragged into this, Walls. The day I helped yuh kill that gangster was the day that I helped you become this."

I sighed, because I know he didn't like what I had become, but he was too nice to say it. "The world needs more people like you, Greg."

He chuckled at me, then walked out of the room to get changed. As I waited, the man with the red hair and beard walked in, and looked down at me.

"Gonna face Robin?" He asked me, his hand on my shoulder.

I nodded, making him smile. "Good. Now, you will not show any mercy. He just threatened an innocent man, and we don't take that, do we?" He asked me, making me smile sadistically.

"No, we don't."

He smiled at me, then ruffled my hair. "Good. And, stab him a few times for me." He said, and started to walk out. "Make me proud." And then he was gone.

Greg came back wearing his vigilante costume, along with his two revolvers. "How're we gettin' there?"

I smiled evilly, and before he could even tell, I was running towards Gotham with him in my arms. I'll show the bird just why you don't mess with a man who's killed hundreds of people.


	15. Chapter 15

The night was beautiful. There was minimal snow falling from the sky here in Gotham, but that just seemed to make it even more unique. Most of the time, when it snowed, it was an exaggerated amount of snow, and the roads would be closed. But not tonight. Tonight was just perfect. As I ran to the warehouse with Greg on my back, I couldn't help but think back on all that I'd done.

About three years ago I was almost raped by some random guys, who I ended up killing. After that, I started on a mission of cleaning up the streets, which continued until right now. I had murdered my English teacher only about a week ago, and now I'm one of the most wanted men in the world. During this week, I found out my dead best friend was actually alive, I was adopted by villains, my friends found out about my other job, and now most of them want to kill me. Wow, life really is a bitch.

As we neared the warehouses, I placed Greg down on a nearby roof, and crouched next to him. "Greg, if anything happens to me down there, and you happen to be close by, act like you were forced by me. Act like you were my slave or something, do not let anyone know that you were my teacher." I told him, smiling sadly at his shocked face.

"Wally, first things first, yuh ain't gonna die." He told me, holding onto my hand tightly.

I sighed and looked away, staring up at the full moon, then told him, "Greg, I just know there's a bigger possibility of me dying tonight. I don't want you getting caught. I don't want your life being halted because of me. I want you to live your life right."

He shook his head, and said, "Walls, my life hasn't been right since Siegel killed Stuff. Ah can't lose another son."

Those words caught me by surprise. I had never felt like I was son to anybody. Yet, here Greg was, telling me that he couldn't lose me. But, I quickly shook off my shock, and smiled, "Greg, you won't lose another son. Now, promise me you'll act like you were being forced by me if you get caught."

He sighed, then nodded. "Fine. If they find me, Ah'll see Ah was forced here by yuh."

I smiled at this, then looked towards the warehouse closest to the ocean, and found a lone figure standing there, pacing slightly. "Look, Greg, I'm not saying that I'll die today, but it's more likely that I'll get caught." I started, but he stopped me.

"Ah'll get yuh outta there 'fore they get ta yuh."

I shook my head, and said, "No, Greg. If the League's there, if more than three of my teammates are there, you'll run. I don't want you losing your life to save my own."

He glared at me, and seemed to be about to say something, but I stopped him. "No need to try to make me change my mind. You're here to keep your own conscience clean. If more than three of my teammates show up, you run. If anybody from the League that aren't Captain Marvel or Big Blue, do not even think of getting close. Promise me this, Greg."

He shook his head, and I glared at him this time. "Damnit, Greg! If something happens to me down there, that's fine! I can't let anything happen to you, though!" Then I looked away, looking into the dark and murky waters. "You still have something worth fighting for, Greg..."

And then there was a hand on my shoulder. "Wally, most o' the things Ah have are material. Yer the first thing that Ah actually want ta fight fer. Ah can't give yuh up. Not so soon."

I turned to him once more, and before he could even see it, I had struck him in his neck. He slumped to the floor, unconscious for this time, because I knew he would jump in to save me at the first sign of trouble. I dragged Greg so he was hidden behind a little shed on the roof of the building, then ran towards Robin, who was glancing down at his holo-whatever to check the time.

"I'm here." I growled at him, making him look up with a smirk.

"Ah, Wally. How've you been?" He asked me, making me sneer.

"I've been good, Dickie-bird. How's your wound?" And it was my turn to smirk as he crossed his arms self-consciously over his wound.

He glared at me, and said, "Well, it sure was a bitch to get here."

And I couldn't help but frown at this. Even with everything that had been going on with us, even if I had almost killed him, even though he had attacked me, we were still acting like the friends we were before. Really, it was both infuriating and comforting. Maybe, just maybe, if we came out of this alive, we may be able to re build our friendship.

"So, what exactly am I doing here?" I asked him, crossing my own arms.

He pursed his lips at this, then said, "Well, first of all, you have to apologize to me and Arty." Then said bitch walked out of the shadows.

I took a step back, just because her aura was that of pure evil, and glared at them. "Rob, I'll apologize to you. I have reason to regret what I did to you. But I don't have reason to apologize to Artemis."

She sneered at me, but Robin spoke before she could make herself look too stupid. "Wally, you had no reason to hurt her. She was just helping me bring you in. Besides, you said it yourself, you regret hurting me."

I shook my head, straightening up so I was at my full height. "Robin, you don't seem to see the bigger picture. Here, I'm sorry for hurting you and stabbing you. But I'm; get this; _not_ sorry for hurting a lying, conniving, spiteful, and evil bitch."

She glared at me, and before I could see, an arrow was sent flying my way. Luckily, I managed to dodge it, and then I had my hands around her neck. She choked and spluttered, grasping my hands to try to pry them off, but I wouldn't let that happen. "You see, bitch, I know exactly what you've been doing. I know to who you've been selling the information. I know _everything_." Then, as her eyes closed and her breathing became shallow, I let her fall to the ground.

I turned around, only to find Robin looking on at me and her with a frown. I cleaned my hands on my coat, not wanting Artemis to stay on my hands, then asked, "What you staring at?"

He scoffed at me, then crossed his arms once more. "I can't believe you just tried to kill Artemis."

I shook my head. "I didn't try to kill her, Dickey-boy." Then I took out the files I had tucked inside my coat. "I wanted her to be found like this." And I threw them on her body.

"What are they?" Robin asked me as I walked towards him.

"The information she's been selling to the shadows... Along with photos and evidence to prove it."

He nodded, then glared at me once more. "You do know I can't let you walk away from me now, right?"

I scoffed, and readjusted my hat. "I'd like to see you try to stop me, junior."

And, once more, he lunged at me, trying to punch my face. I quickly side stepped him, then threw him at the nearest wall. He smashed against it, causing a crack to appear where he landed. I waited until he was up and glaring at me, slightly hunching. "You'll regret that." He growled, then he was on me again.

And that's how we started our dangerous dance. He would punch and kick, while I would dodge and hit him whenever he left himself open. "Come on, Rob! Where's the cocky troll that can beat Kid Flash?!" That's how I would taunt him. I'm sure he thought that I would be just like Kid Flash, I'm sure he thought that I would never know how to fight, and I'm sure he thought that when I beat him yesterday was because I had luck on my side.

I'm sure I'm proving him wrong right now.

"Shut up!" He finally screamed, jumping away from me, panting and looking read to collapse.

I smirked at him, crossed my arms, and said, "Ready to stop?" I'm still not tired. You got to love speedster metabolism at times.

"Never!" He yelled, then there was a sharp...

I don't know... But something hit my arm. My eyes were wide, and when I looked down at my arm, I found a birdarang there, causing blood to start forming around it. I looked up at Robin, shocked at what he had done, then felt sick to my stomach at his face. He was happy to see blood flowing from my arm.

"How does that feel, Wally?" He asked me, cockier than ever before.

And then my shocked face turned into a smirk. "Yes, do tell, Robin. How does it feel to see the blood of your enemy?" I asked him, then yanked out the offending weapon. "Does it feel rewarding? Does it make you happy?" With each question I took a step forward, making him take one back. "Or do you just feel excited?" Then he lunged at me again.

This time I only had one arm to defend myself with, but that only seemed to encourage the thirteen year old even more. He would strike my wounded arm even more, most probably trying to get any kind of reaction from me, but I would only grunt and throw him away. Because, truth be told, I didn't feel it when he hit me. I guess that once you've been hurt mentally and emotionally to the point of being numb, you also go numb physically.

And then he cut me once more. This time in my other arm. Then another time, that time in my leg. He just kept slicing and slicing, but I didn't fight back, because I didn't want to... Not anymore. I was numb physically... I didn't feel anything... Not anymore. Then, as he cut slices into my face, I heard his voice.

"Get away from him, Robin!" Kaldur yelled, making the bird look up from me.

I sluggishly looked up, too, and found Kaldur, Raquel, Conner, Zatanna, and M'gann all standing there, the girls with horrified looks at what their bird had done, while the boys were glaring at him.

"Get away from him, Robin." Kaldur repeated, voice getting deadly serious.

I hadn't seen it, but Robin had been pushing me towards the edge of the docks, nearing the deep and deadly sea. Robin glared at me, but still did as told. "I don't know why you're helping him, you know what he did to Artemis and me!" It was only one step back, the distance he moved. He could still easily push me towards the sea.

Kaldur glared at him, and took a step forward. "Yes, but he had reason to! You attacked him, Robin! What would you have done in his shoes?!"

Robin growled, and pointed at me with real anger. "I would not have tried to murder my attackers!"

"I do not care what you are thinking was his objective, Robin. Step away from Wally right now." Kaldur was... Wow... Kaldur was angry.

I don't know, but right now, it was like I wasn't even in my body. It's like I was seeing what was happening, I was there in that moment... But I just wasn't feeling it. I was hearing it, I was seeing it, but I just could not _feel_ it.

"It's not fair!" Robin yelled, and was suddenly back with me, his bloodied birdarang on my throat. "How can you back up a murderer, yet you can't see that I'm doing what's best for everybody!?"

"Robin, please." This time it was Zatanna. "Don't do this... Think about what would happen if Batman found out."

"Please, Robin, don't do this." And this was M'gann.

Their emotions... They actually hurt me... I felt tears prick my eyes, and before I could stop them, they were flowing. "M'gann!" I choked out, getting the attention of all of them. "I'm sorry! I never should have said those things..." Then I apologized to each and every one of them. "Kaldur, I'm sorry I was a dick. Don't you dare stop being yourself, you're awesome. Supey, I'm sorry I hurt you... I never meant to hurt anyone." And I choked there once more. God, I was so stupid. "Raquel, I really am sorry."

And this time she spoke. "Stop talking as if you were gonna die, idiot!"

I laughed at this, then finished, "And Zatanna, I'm sorry you had to live through this." Then I turned to look at Robin, who was glaring down at me. "But I apologize with all of my heart because you're stuck with a backstabber like Robin..."

And that did it. I heard Kaldur yell to Robin to stop, but I didn't react. I heard Conner yell at me to run away, but I didn't run. I heard Zatanna try to curse Robin, but I didn't smile. I just fell. I saw the dark sky, cold and unforgiving, glaring down at me. Time passed as slow as ever, seconds dragged into months and years, then I saw her face. The woman that had started all of this.

 _"Thank you."_ And those were the last words I heard before I hit the water.

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah. Wally is a crazy psychopath here. Pretty awesome enough beginning. Hope y'all enjoyed it.


End file.
